By Mike Baños
Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines – The burgeoning Northern Mindanao region is all set to get a timely boost in the arm as it metamorphoses into the Philippines fourth metropolitan area.
Barely five months after signing an agreement to join forces in building up a globally competitive workforce in the Metro Cagayan de Misamis growth area, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority(TESDA) and Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation (PDO), are in talks to have the government agency construct its Region 10 office, Misamis Oriental Provincial Office, and Cagayan de Oro Training Center into a donated lot in the Pueblo de Oro Township in Uptown Cagayan de Oro.
In a meeting hosted by the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc., (Oro Chamber), PDO General Manager & Vice President for Mindanao Engr. Chrysler B. Acebu, who is also concurrently the Vice President for Manufacturing and Industry of Oro Chamber, related how a one hectare lot PDO donated to the Regional Development Council for Region 10 (RDC-10) 18 years ago remains undeveloped, save for a 2,800 sq m lot which was donated to the Oro Chamber.
PDO as the real estate arm of the ICCP Group has long been a valuable partner of TESDA Region X in advancing community empowerment through relevant skills training and workforce development initiatives. As part of the exchange partnership with TESDA Region X, PDO expressed its willingness to consider a part of its property holdings for the TESDA 10 regional office, Misamis Oriental provincial office and the TESDA Training Center Cagayan de Oro office.
Engr. Acebu cited the strategic importance of its partnership with TESDA, especially with regard to PDO’s Masterson Mile North, a five-tower luxury condominium complex; the 31-hectare Southridge Silicon Valley-inspired mixed-use development, and a World Trade Center.
“We would really need TESDA to help us upgrade the skills of our workforce since PDO is known for its high-end products, therefore we need workers who are able to keep up in terms of delivering quality work that align with the premium standards we envision for these upcoming projects,” Acebu noted.
Industry 4.0, (also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or 4IR) is the current phase of the industrial revolution characterized by digital transformation and a shift towards automation and data exchange in the manufacturing and business processes.
ICCP manages six industrial parks around the Philippines where the skillsets of the workers of its locators have to be competitive at a global level to be able to adequately address the needs of their markets and clients.
TESDA Sec Kiko Benitez hands PDO VP & GM Chrysler Acebu a Certificate of Appreciation witnessed by TESDA & PDO officials. (RMB)
“To network with TESDA and other stakeholders is part and parcel of our journey and we are looking forward that the initiative of Pueblo de Oro will come into reality,” said Oro Chamber President Almarco C. Brito.
“It’s time to build our own regional building that will become the face of TechVoc to improve things, the way we do things, the way we deliver our services to our clients,” responded TESDA-10 Regional Director Rafael “Rafi” Y. Abrogar II. “Our partnership is a testament to the development of Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental and Region X, and we are honored to be your partners (PDO and Oro Chamber).”
Abrogar revealed that TESDA Regional Offices are now empowered to delve into curriculum development in partnership with industry and the academe, especially for hard-to-fill skills, trainings, or qualifications which still lack competency standards, and apply these directly to address the specific needs of particular industries and companies.
TESDA Director General Secretary Jose Francisco “Kiko” B. Benitez for his part stressed the advantage of having the TESDA regional and provincial offices in close proximity to the Oro Chamber office, considering the member firms of the chamber is the primary market for its graduates and services.
“This jibes perfectly with TESDA’s BEST (Better Employability through Skills Training) priority program which focuses on demand and data driven TVET which is agile and responsive to the demands of industry,” Sec. Benitez stressed. “This involves modernizing programs, integrating digital skills, and fostering partnerships with industries to ensure graduates are future-proofed for the evolving workforce, and ever ready to meet the demands of local and global economies.
Joined by TESDA Deputy Directors General for TESDA Deputy Director Generals Vidal Villanueva III (Operations) and Felizardo Colambo (Special Concerns), Secretary Benitez kicked off his official itinerary with a visit to Pueblo de Oro to discuss the proposed donation of a lot intended for the establishment of a new TESDA Regional Office Building in the city’s uptown area, signifying a new chapter in service accessibility and infrastructure development for the region.
“Inherent to TESDA’s mandate is to provide relevant, accessible, high quality techvoc, hence the need to have a demand driven skills training through a strengthened partnership with industry as indicated in our priority program for Demand Drive and Data Driven TVET,” said TESDA Misamis Oriental Provincial Dir. Marigold Cherie R. Garrido. “The partnership with PDO will also lead towards realizing TESDA’s priority program 5.0 on Employment Outcomes.”
