The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) urged anew local government units (LGUs) to avail of its free contact tracing training program (CTTP) as the country is now experiencing a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

It can be recalled that at the onset of the pandemic last year, TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapeña immediately ordered for the registration of more health-related programs and tasked the agency’s Qualifications and Standards Office to develop competency standards on contact tracing.

He likewise directed the TESDA Technology Institutions (TTIs) nationwide to register the program and partner with barangay health centers, LGUs, Philippine Red Cross (PRC), or Department of Health (DOH) facilities in their areas.

With this, TESDA, in September last year, has started offering free contact tracing training program to support the country’s fight against the spread of the new coronavirus.

From September last year up to March this year, based on raw data gathered from the published reports of the Agency’s regional and provincial offices, at least 332 TESDA scholars have completed their training on Contact Tracing Level II.

Earlier, Lapeña expressed his optimism that this initiative will benefit the community and the LGUs particularly in the barangay level.

“It is through this program that we can produce more graduates for the LGUs to utilize as contact tracers who will work to prevent the spread of coronavirus in their respective barangays,” he had said.

Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque Jr. had said that contact tracing has been the weakest point of the country’s pandemic response.

Contact tracing czar and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong had said that the country needs a 1:37 patient to close contacts ratio in order to cut the transmission of the disease.

Meanwhile, the training on contact tracing, which was developed with the help of the Health Human Resources Development Bureau of the DOH and the health industry experts, runs for 15 days under blended learning modality.

Trainees for contact tracing must have completed at least 10 years basic education or holder of Alternative Learning System certificate of completion with Grade 10 equivalent and has basic communication skills.

Trainees will be given a training allowance amounting to PhP2,400 for the entire training duration, insurance coverage, and additional allowance to cover internet expenses and personal protective equipment. The graduates may apply in LGUs of their choice for possible employment after their training. ###–

Over 1K TESDA scholars graduate as contact tracers

Taguig City — A total of 1,689 Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) scholars nationwide have graduated the agency’s Contact Tracing Training Program (CTTP) in 2020. 

TESDA-National Capital Region (NCR), through the MuntiParLasTaPat District Training and Assessment Center pilot-launched the Contact Tracing Level II Program last September 9, 2020.

Data from TESDA’s Regional Operations Management Office (ROMO) showed that Region II has produced the highest total number of graduates in 2020 with 581 followed by NCR and Region I with 327 and 151, respectively.

The data further showed that Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has 140 graduates; Region XI with 106; Region IX with 101; Region X with 69; Region V with 67; Region XII with 49; Region VIII with 30; Region III with 28; Region IV-A with 22; and Region XIII with 18.

Meanwhile, data also from ROMO showed that 117 TESDA Technology Institutions (TTIs) nationwide have registered the Contact Tracing Level II course.

With this, TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapeña is encouraging the local government units (LGUs) to tap the graduates for employment as contact tracers in their barangays. 

He also encouraged the LGUS to avail its free contact tracing training program as it will boost the country’s response to Covid-19 pandemic.

“The delivery of the training course on contact tracing still remains relevant. As you know, transmission of the coronavirus is yet to be fully contained here and anywhere else in the world,” Lapeña said.

“We need more people at the community level who are equipped with the right skills in tracing the close contacts of Covid-19 positive individuals,” he added.

The training program was developed with the help of the Health Human Resources Development Bureau of the Department of Health (DOH) and the health industry experts. It runs for 15 days on blended learning modality.

Trainees for contact tracing must have completed at least 10 years basic education or holder of Alternative Learning System certificate of completion with Grade 10 equivalent and has basic communication skills.

Trainees will be given a training allowance amounting to PhP2,400 for the entire duration of the training, insurance coverage, and allowance for health protection equipment and internet. The graduates may apply in the LGUs of their choice for possible deployment or employment.  ###

27 March 2021

Lapeña eager to light up more remote communities in Eastern Visayas

TAGUIG CITY – The Director General of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Secretary Isidro Lapeña, spearheaded the launching of Liwanag At Malasakit Ramdam ang Asesnso at Ginhawa (LAMRAG) Project in the provinces of Leyte, Eastern Samar, and Southern Leyte.

After attending the meeting of President Rodrigo Duterte with the Joint National and Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-RTF-ELCAC) in Eastern Visayas, Lapeña spent his days afterwards on visiting TESDA offices and meeting the Regional Poverty Reduction, Livelihood, and Employment Cluster (PRLEC) together with the different local government units.

Project LAMRAG was first launched by Lapeña in Eastern Samar on Friday, March 19, 2021 with TESDA Deputy Director General for TESDA Operations Lina Sarmiento, Chief-of-Staff Juliet Orosco, TESDA-VIII Regional Director Gamaliel Vicente, Jr., local officials, PRLEC member-agencies, and regional officials of the Department of Energy (DoE).

Last Monday, March 22, 2020, the said project was launched in Southern Leyte and on the following day, in Leyte Province.

Like its equivalent training programs launched in other regions, Project LAMRAG in Eastern Visayas aims to provide solar lighting systems in Geographically Isolated Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) including the PRLEC-identified barangays.

It trains residents of GIDAs in Photovoltaic (PV) Systems Installation NC II through the scholarship and community-based training programs of TESDA and the installation of Solar Home System Components under the Household Electrification Program (HEP) of DoE.

“Lamrag” is the Waray term for “liwanag” or light.

The TESDA Chief hopes that the agency’s skills training, along with the projects of the PRLEC and other RTF-NTF-ELCAC Clusters will help bring lasting peace and development in the communities of Eastern Visayas which were once a stronghold of the New People’s Army (NPA).

“Now that they will know how to bring light inside their homes, we will follow it up with more skills training related to agriculture, construction, livelihood, and other training programs that can help uplift their living conditions and develop their community,” he said.

During the RTF-ELCAC Meeting with President Duterte, Lapeña also led the awarding of Certificates of Scholarship Commitment to the six priority barangays in Northern Samar under the Barangay Development Program.

TESDA is also set to provide skills training and scholarship to 1,768 individuals in Eastern Visayas who have received Certificates of Land Ownership (CLOA) from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). ###–