by Prix D. Banzon

Davao City (27 November) -- Mindanao key players in the academe and the business sectors completed a Roadmap that will serve as guide in shaping their needs as an industry.

Crisanto S. Frianeza, secretary general of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry acknowledge the initiative made by the Mindanao Technical Vocational Education Training (MinTVET) saying that this is the first in the country and hopefully this will be replicated nationwide.

He said with the Roadmap it will encourage businesses to invest and the schools would also have more insights on what to do with their operations.

The MTVET Roadmap was developed by a core team who themselves belong to the different industry in the island where data are gathered and validated.

The roadmap was supported by AusAid through the Philippine Australia Human Resource Development Facility (PHRDF) where Rosa D. Antes, HRDF manager of AusAid although did not give specific details of the funding component said the fund for the Roadmap was part of the $45 million aid of the Australian government to Mindanao.

She said the Roadmap is only one aspect as they are also into other programs like capability building and scholarship where deserving students from the island can study in the universities in Australia.

Milalin Javellana, facility director of PAHRDF said part of the scholarship program is for the student to come up with a re-entry entrepreneur plan somewhat like an Idea Camp.

She said they are required to come up with business ideas and venture into investment or improvement of the existing business operation.

She said the grant is nationwide but 60 percent of the beneficiaries are from Mindanao even as she said that the island is a priority area.

Joji Ilagan-Bian, chairperson of MinTVET although admitted that there is still the wrong perception of vocational school graduates but with the consistent updating and upgrading of these schools their graduates are now competitive.

She said 60 percent of the tech voc schools in Mindanao are into adopting the quality standards and they are quite successful on this.

Meanwhile she said with the Roadmap this will now address mismatch of graduates as this tool will guide both the school and the business what are the needs of their respective areas.

She said this will also allow the school in the event that they will expand their operations to link up with banks and draw a partnership where the latter would finance the expansion project.

"Considering that we already had built a network with AusAid the schools here could also look into partnering with international schools so that the quality of instruction be met in accordance with international standards," Bian added.

The implementation of the TVET sector Roadmap for Mindanao (2010 to 2015) will be done by the MinTVET in cooperation with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) where they inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure of a sustained partnership.