TAGUIG CITY -- Various activities are lined up for the celebration of both the National Technical-Vocational (Tech-Voc) Day and the 27th Anniversary of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), both on August 25.

TESDA opened the week-long anniversary celebrations on Monday with a nationwide simultaneous flag raising ceremony.

Adhering strictly to the guidelines being imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), TESDA Director General, Secretary Isidro Lapeña, noted that the agency created an online platform where Filipinos all over the world can virtually join the activities.

"They can access the 27.tesda.gov.ph website.  There, we prepared different services that the public can avail of and video content that they can watch.  In this virtual celebration, we can also show our continuous adjustment to the new normal as the training arm of the government," explained the TESDA chief.

Highlighting the celebrations are the World Cafe of Opportunities (WCO) for jobseekers, and the National TVET Enrollment Day (NTED) for those individuals wishing to enroll in tech-voc courses.

The online World Cafe of Opportunities will be accessible to the public through the 27.tesda.gov.ph website on August 25.  The event will be catering to TESDA and tech-voc alumni, National Certificate (NC) holders, as well as those who are looking for new livelihood opportunities, and partner employers of the agency who need the additional workforce.

With similar services to a job fair, the WCO is also a venue where job applicants may facilitate transactions with other partner government agencies to comply with requirements and other documents they may need.  Financial institutions who can lend clients support to start their own business will also be invited to participate in the WCO.

One the other hand, the National TVET Enrollment Day will be held on August 25 - 27.  Filipinos all over the country can apply to get free tech-voc training through TESDA scholarships at this link: tesda.gov.ph/barangay.

The scholarship slots are open to high school graduates 15 years old and above.

Both the WCO and NTED may be accessed by public through the given links.  In areas where quarantine conditions allow, the TESDA office or institution in the area may also conduct the activities face-to-face, while strictly observing the minimum health protocols.  Interested individuals may visit TESDA’s social media pages for more announcements.

Aside from these activities, multimedia content will also be available at the 27.tesda.gov virtual platform.  This includes announcements on the winners and awardees of TESDA’s institutional awards, anniversary contests, showcases of different TESDA Training Institutions (TTIs) all over the country, episodes of the TESDA Vlog I-TESDA mo Na Yan!, TVET success stories from different parts of the country, informative and instructional videos, and others.

For this year, the theme for the agency’s anniversary is "TESDA @ 27: Pagbangon, pag-asa at pag-abante sa bente syete". (TESDA)