PH, Germany to bolster ties in technical-vocational education, training

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her courtesy visit to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority headquarters in Taguig City. PHOTO FROM TESDA.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Germany have agreed to enhance ties in their technical-vocational education and training (TVET) to address the needs of the latter’s labor market, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) said on Friday.

The agreement was reached following German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s courtesy visit to Tesda headquarters in Taguig on Thursday, welcomed by the agency’s secretary Suharto Managudadatu.

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“Our two countries have always cooperated and worked closely with each other,” Managudadatu said in his speech.

“The Philippines and Germany remain keen to explore more partnerships aimed at addressing the development of the Philippine skilled labor workforce,” he added.

Manila and Berlin signed a joint declaration of intent on cooperation in the area of skills development, recruitment, deployment, and employment of skilled workers.

“As the authority in TVET, rest assured that Tesda will continue its strategies to align with the international standards and be able to address the needs of the labor market, especially that of Germany,” Managudadatu added.

“We hope to have more opportunities to discuss initiatives that we could pursue together to further enhance the quality of the Philippine TVET system with the help of Germany,” he added.

For her part, Baerbock said the signing of the joint declaration is “a common cooperation where we learn from each other.”

“By signing this joint declaration, we are showing our commitment to working closely with the Philippine government, Philippine businesses, and especially, with the Filipino people,” Baerbock also said in her speech.

“The agreement we are signing today is a big step forward on how we are together in labor training and migration,” she added.

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