EDUCATION Careers on skills-based education now possible

Securing a career in the modern workplace no longer means acquiring an academic diploma.

Skills-based options, more commonly known as vocational courses, offer students practical skills enhancement and on-thejob training in specific industries in real- world situations. The result: students are immersed and honed much earlier in their chosen fields, allowing them to join the industry upon graduation.

Latest statistics from the Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA) bode well for students of skills-based programs.

According to TESDA, seven out of 10 graduates of vocational courses easily find jobs, and nine out of 10 employers are satisfied with the performance of vocational school graduates. This means that exploring skills-based education, over traditional academic education, is now a viable option.

IThe different schools under the AMA Education System (AMAES), for example, have a wide-range of skills-based of- ferings ranging from 3-D game development to sales channel management.

AMAES has increased its vocational course offerings across the schools under its banner.

“Schools should help expand opportunities for students and not limit them,” says Ambassador Amable R. Aguiluz V, considered the father of IT education in the Philippines and founder of AMAES.

“We believe that learning is life-long and limitless, and offering more skills-based courses is our way of giving our students at AMAES institutions a wider, more extensive arena.”

Currently, AMAES schools offer skills-based tracks both for senior high school and college level programs. /