CITING the readiness and openness of both towns, Bohol First District Rep. Rene Relampagos, in session last Thursday of the House of Representatives, filed for the establishment of specialized TESDA centers in the towns of Loon and Balilihan. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is the government agency mandated with managing and supervising technical education and skills development in the country. Established in 1994, the agency integrated the functions of the then National Manpower and Youth Council, Bureau of Technical-Vocational Education of the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports, and the Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Training in one of the country's TESDA centers includes courses in tailoring, dressmaking, bread and pastry production, automotive servicing, shielded metal arc welding, consumer electronics, commercial cooking, and other technical skills. TESDA courses are also designed to meet the standards of local and international labor markets. Rep. Relampagos believes that TESDA training centers will enhance the competencies of local residents and even those from neighboring towns and would prepare them for eventual employment or entrepreneurship. “Skills development is one area that is seen by many as having the full potential to contribute to the improvement of the local economy, he noted. The First District solon added that with the emergence of the global market of skills, the local communities of Bohol will be better served if it is prepared to meet the needs and requirements of both the domestic and international labor markets.