1.2 million benefit from TESDA online programs

For the last six years, more than 1.2 million users have registered and benefited from the free online programs offered by the Technical Education and Skills and Development Authority (TESDA).

The TESDA Online Program (TOP) now has 1,223,857 registered users.

894,390 have enrolled in various courses and at least 441,052 of them have completed an online course.

"It aims to bring technical education one click away from students, out-of-school youth, unemployed adults and overseas Filipino workers," said TESDA Director General, Secretary Guiling Mamondiong.

Launched in May 2012, TOP made technical education more accessible to Filipino citizens through the use of information and communication technologies.

As of August 2018, the TOP is offering 58 online course, including popualr ones such Basic Computer Operation (Intel Easy Steps), Web Development using HTML5 and CSS3, Preparing Cakes, Provide Housekeeping Services to Guests and the STAR Online Training Program.

The online courses available in the TOP are offered for free, allowing the students to enroll in multiple classes at the same time.

A study conducted by the Philippine Institute on Development Studies showed that 56 percent of the respondents identified skills upgrading and enhancement as the number one reason for enrolling in TOP, while 18.8 percent of the respondents enrolled in TOP for employment purposes.

The same study shows that the TOP is able to benefit and reach those who are even in the most remote areas in the Philippines.

Apart from this, the results from Onsite Assessments, a TESDA program which offers competency assessment for Filipino workers in certain countries, show a high certification rate of 89.66 for OFWs who had studied TVET courses through the TOP.