Department of Tourism (DOT) and TESDA Join Forces for Five-Year Partnership to Boost Tourism Workforce

In a move to address the evolving demands of the post-pandemic tourism industry, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have formalized a five-year partnership aimed at expanding training and upskilling opportunities for tourism workers.

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing ceremony, held on Thursday (Aug. 24) at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City, was led by DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and TESDA Director General Suharto Mangudadatu. Witnessing the historic collaboration were DOT Undersecretaries Mae Elaine Bathan, Ferdinand Jumapao, and TESDA Deputy Director Generals Vidal Villanueva III, Rosanna Urdaneta, and Aniceto Bertiz III.

Under the MOA, the DOT and TESDA plan to empower local communities by providing tourism scholarships and enhancing employable skills through targeted training programs. The partnership also includes updating and developing Tourism-related Training Regulations (TRs), Competency Standards (CS), competency-based curricula (CBC), and Competency Assessment Tools (CATs) in line with emerging industry trends and technologies.

The collaboration will see the implementation of Enterprise-based Trainings (EBT) or Supervised Industry Learning (SIL) and the promotion of different human capital development programs and services. A joint technical working group, consisting of representatives from both DOT and TESDA, will be established to oversee and ensure the success of these initiatives.

In her keynote address, Secretary Frasco expressed gratitude to TESDA for the partnership, emphasizing the importance of developing the human capital in the Philippines. She highlighted the role of this collaboration in supporting the goals of the Marcos administration to make tourism a pivotal economic pillar for the country.

“We will not stop at training alone; after training the workers under this partnership, we will ensure that they are employable by capitalizing on our existing partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE),” Secretary Frasco stated. The collaboration aims to create a world-class tourism workforce and competitive human resources in the sector.

Director General Mangudadatu echoed Secretary Frasco’s sentiments, thanking her for the DOT’s active involvement in this momentous event. He affirmed the partnership’s dedication to producing skilled workers and enhancing tourism education.

The event, part of the series of activities for the TESDA 29th Anniversary and National Tech-Voc Day, witnessed the presence of other government officials, including National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) Secretary Guiling Mamondiong, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Rear Admiral Eustacio Nimrod Enriquez, National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) Chairperson Allen Capuyan, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Chief Jail Director Ruel Rivera, and Government Academe Industry Network (GAIN) Chairman Peter Laurel.

This partnership reaffirms the commitment of both the DOT and TESDA to enhance the skills and capabilities of the Filipino workforce, contributing to the overall growth and sustainability of the tourism industry.