Regional bet for Nat’l Tesda Idol hails from Maasin

By Marcelo M. Pedalino

Sunday 19th of August 2012

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Aug 19 (PIA) -- The nominee for Region 8 in the nationwide Idol search initiated by the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (Tesda) hails from this city, in the person of Neptali Wales, a Tesda-certified automotive servicing mechanic.

Wales will compete with 10 other vocational-technical course aspirants from different regions all over the country in the wage-employed category, said Tesda Provincial Director Rolando Juanillo.

Juanillo said this was the first time in the three-year Tesda Idol search starting in 2009 that Southern Leyte submitted a nominee who turned out as the region’s entry after having undergone a rigid regional selection procedure.

Results will be known next week, on Friday, during the 18th anniversary celebration of Tesda, Juanillo added.

The annual Tesda Idol search is meant to highlight the skills and capabilities of individuals who have been productive through hired jobs or having own business enterprise following a training course accredited by the agency.

For this year, nine contestants for the self-employed category, while 10 others for the wage-employed category.

Juanillo said Wales is presently connected with the Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative (Soleco) over the past two years, working as an automotive mechanic.

Last February 23, 2012, Wales renewed his National Certificate II (NC II), an indication that he had successfully updated his competencies and a factor for the submission of his name as the provincial nominee of Southern Leyte, Juanillo told Philippine Information Agency (PIA) by phone Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Juanillo also revealed that the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) was a nominee in this year’s Kabalikat Award, an honor conferred by Tesda to local government units that extended all-out support to their programs and projects.

The series of computer training initiated by the Southern Leyte provincial government through the PSWDO over the past several years was duly considered in the selection of the Kabalikat nominee, Juanillo said. (EOT/MMP-PIA8 Southern Leyte)