The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)

(Filipino: Pangasiwaan sa Edukasyong Teknikal at Pagpapaunlad ng Kasanayan) serves as

the Philippines' Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) authority. As a
government agency, TESDA is tasked to both manage and supervise the Philippines'
Technical Education and Skills Development (TESD). Its goals are to develop the Filipino
workforce with "world-class competence and positive work values" and to provide quality
technical-educational and skills development through its direction, policies, and
programs.[2]
Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority

Logo

TESDA Building in Taguig

Agency overview

Formed August 25, 1994

Headquarters TESDA Building 15, East

Service Road, Western
Bicutan, Taguig, Metro
Manila, Philippines

Annual ₱7.56 billion Php(2018)[1]

budget
 Agency  Isidro Lapeña, Director-
executive General

Parent agency Department of Labor and

Employment

Website www.tesda.gov.ph
Contents

HistoryEdit
PredecessorEdit
Technical-Vocational Education was first introduced to the Philippines through the
enactment of Commonwealth Act No. 3377, or the “Vocational Act of 1927.” [3] On June 3,
1938, the National Assembly of the Philippines passed Commonwealth Act No. 313, which
provided for the establishment of regional national vocational trade schools of
the Philippine School of Arts and Trades type, as well as regional national vocational
agricultural high schools of the Central Luzon Agricultural High School Type, effectively
providing for the establishment of technical-vocational schools around the country.[4]
On June 22, 1963, Republic Act. No. 3742, or “An Act Creating A Bureau of Vocational
Education, Defining its Functions, Duties, and Powers, and Appropriating Funds Therefor”
was passed, which provided for the creation of a Bureau of Vocational Education (BVE).
The creation of the BVE led to the abolishment of the Vocational Education Division of the
Bureau of Public Schools. The BVE was created with the purpose of “strengthening,
promoting, coordinating, and expanding the programs of vocational education now being
undertaken by the Bureau of Public Schools.” It was also created “for the purpose of
enhancing the socio-economic program of the Philippines through the development of skilled
manpower in agricultural, industrial and trade-technical, fishery and other vocational
courses.”[5]
The Manpower Development Council (MDC) was created by virtue of Executive Order No.
53 on December 8, 1966, which was issued by President Ferdinand Marcos. The MDC was
tasked with “developing an integrated long-term manpower plan as a component of the
overall social and economic development plan.” Targets which were to be established by the
said manpower plan were to be “used by the Department of Education and the Budget
Commission in programming public investments in education and out-of-school training
schemes.”[6]
The MDC was eventually replaced by the National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC),
which was created by virtue of Republic Act. No. 5462, or the Manpower and Out-of-School
Youth Development Act of the Philippines. The NMYC was placed under the Office of the
President, and was charged with establishing a “National Manpower Skills Center under its
authority and supervision for demonstration and research in accelerated manpower and
youth training.” It was also tasked with establishing “regional and local training centers for
gainful occupational skills,” as well as adopting “employment promotion schemes to channel
unemployed youth to critical and other occupations.”[7]Republic Act No. 5462 was eventually
repealed by Presidential Decree No. 422, otherwise known as the Labor Code, on May 1,
1974.[8]
President Marcos, on September 29, 1972, issued Presidential Decree No. 6-A, or the
“Educational Development Decree of 1972,” which highlighted the government’s educational
policies and priorities at the time. The decree also provided for the “establishment and/or
operation, upgrading or improvement of technical institutes, skills training centers, and other
non-formal training programs and projects for the out-of-school youth and the unemployed in
collaboration with the programs of the National Manpower and Youth Council.”[9]
The 1975 reorganization of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports led to the
abolishment of the Bureau of Vocational Education, along with the Bureau of Public Schools
and the Bureau of Private Schools. In their place, the Bureau of Elementary Education, the
Bureau of Secondary Education and the Bureau of Higher Education were established. The
responsibilities of the Bureau of Vocational Education were absorbed by the newly
established Bureau of Secondary Education.[10]
Eventually, the Education Act of 1982 paved the way for the creation of the Bureau of
Technical and Vocational Education (BTVE). The BTVE was tasked to “conduct studies,
formulate, develop and evaluate post-secondary vocational-technical programs and
recommend educational standards for these programs,” as well as to “develop curricular
designs and prepare instructional materials, prepare and evaluate programs to upgrade the
quality of teaching and non-teaching staff, and formulate guidelines to improve the physical
plant and equipment of post-secondary vocational-technical schools.”[11]
Establishment of TESDAEdit

President Fidel V. Ramos signed Republic Act No. 7796, or the "Technical Education and Skills Development Act of
1994," on August 25, 1994.

The Philippine Congress enacted Joint Resolution No. 2 in 1990, effectively creating the
Congressional Commission for Education or EDCOM. The commission was tasked to review
and assess the education and manpower training system of the country. Among the
recommendations of the commission was the establishment of the Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA), a government agency tasked with developing and
overseeing the country’s vocational and technical education programs and policies.[12] The
commission further recommended that the new agency be created as a fusion of the
following offices: the National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC) of the Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Bureau of Technical and Vocational Education (BTVE)
of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), and the Apprenticeship
Program of the Bureau of Local Employment of DOLE. Subsequently, the enactment of
Republic Act No. 7796, or the “Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 1994,”
 authored by Senator Francisco Tatad led to the establishment of the present-day TESDA.
RA 7796 was signed into law by President Fidel Ramos on August 25, 1994.[13]
The merger of the aforementioned offices was meant to reduce bureaucratic oversight on
skills development activities initiated by the private and the public sector and to provide a
single agency that will take charge of the country’s technical vocational and training
(TVET) system. Hence, a major thrust of TESDA is the formulation of a comprehensive
development plan for middle-level manpower based on the National Technical Education
and Skills Development Plan. This plan provides for a reformed industry-based training
program that includes apprenticeship, dual training system and other similar schemes.[14]
Further reformsEdit
The National Training Center for Technical Education and Staff Development (NTCTESD)
and its administration were transformed from the authority of the then-Department of
Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to TESDA by virtue of Executive Order No. 337,
which was issued by President Fidel V. Ramos on May 17, 1996. The transfer was done in
accordance with R.A. 7796, which effectively transferred the DECS' responsibility of
administering the technical-vocational education and training to TESDA. This necessitated
the transfer of the administration of the NTCTESD from the DECS to TESDA.[15]
On September 15, 2004, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order No.
358, which provided for the "institutionalization ladderized interface between Technical-
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Higher Education (HE)."[16] It further
mandates that TESDA and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) "develop and
implement a unified national qualifications framework that establishes equivalency pathways
and access ramps for easier transition and progression between TVET and higher education.
The framework shall include the following mechanisms:"[17]
 National System of Credit Transfer
 Post TVET Bridging Programs
 System of Enhanced Equivalency
 Adoption of Ladderized Curricula/Program
 Modularized Program Approach
 Competency-based Programs
 Network of Dual Sector Colleges and Universities
 Accreditation/Recognition of Prior Learning
 List of TVIs under EO 358

Executive Order No. 75, issued by President Benigno Aquino III on April 30, 2012,
designated the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) as the "single
administration in the Philippines responsible for oversight in the implementation of the
1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for
Seafarers." Prior to the executive order, TESDA had the power to issue the Certificate of
Competence for Ratings by virtue of Executive Order No. 242, s. 2000.[18]
President Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order No. 1, issued on June 30, 2016, effectively
placed TESDA and other government agencies under the supervision of the Cabinet
Secretary. The executive order mandates that the agencies mentioned "shall primarily
evaluate existing poverty reduction programs and, if deemed necessary, formulate a more
responsive set of programs complementing existing ones, channeling resources as necessary
to reduce both the incidence and magnitude of poverty." Other duties and responsibilities
have also been ascribed to the concerned agencies by this executive order.[19] It was later
placed under the Department of Trade and Industry on October 31, 2018 following the
reorganization of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary.[20]