Aquino provides additional funding for skills training

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino announced Wednesday night an additional allocation of half a billion pesos for the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda) to train workers for the country’s business processing outsourcing industry.

In a speech to the Third International Outsourcing Summit of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines, Aquino said the P500 million was part of the government’s P72-billion economic stimulus program.

“I am also happy to announce to you today that I have recently approved an additional budget of P500 million, under our stimulus package, for training program to be undertaken by Tesda, in partnership with your industry,” the President said.

Aquino said the Tesda has also allotted P20 million for the “free training of potential workers in your industry.”

He said four associations under the BPAP will be the government’s partners in training workers in the contact center, software development, animation, and medical transcription sectors.

“We are doing all of this to match the confidence you have displayed in our country: In this way, as you have chosen to invest in the Philippines, so too are we choosing to invest in our people, to add to the arsenal of skills and qualities that they already possess in order to have a globally competitive and empowered work force,” the President  said.