Filipino
welders are known for their world-class skills but the establishment of the
American Welding Society (AWS) Test Facility Center in the city will make them
more competitive in the world market.
“The
ASW Certification is recognized by companies in the Middle East so a welder who
has this certification can immediately get employment there without retesting,”
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority(Tesda) XI Regional
Director Gaspar Gayona said in an interview.
The
Testing Center was established after the signing last year of a
memorandum
agreement between Tesda and the Middle East Industrial Training Institute in
the United Arab Emirates (MEITI-UAE). AWS has accredited MEITI-UAE as an
international agent for AWS certification and as a certified welding
fabricator.
“This
is the only center in the Philippines so even those from Luzon and Visayas who
want to get AWS Certification can get tested here in Davao,” he said.
Mr.
Gayona said Dabawenyo welders, or even Filipino welders who get hired in Middle
East countries only have their NCII (National Certification II) which is not
enough. What happens, he said, is that they are still retrained outside and
their skills reassessed in the Middle East.
“We
want our welders to be ready for employment when they reach the Middle East and
the other countries requiring welders so we asked our partner in Abu Dhabi to
bring the assessment agency here in Davao City,” he said.
The
AWS Accredited Test Facility possess all the minimum test facilities required
by AWS when it comes to the personnel, equipment and the accreditation test for
welders.
Tesda
Director General Joel Villanueva said the MOA between Tesda and MEITI-UAE aims
to upgrade the skills of Filipino graduates of technical-vocational education
trainings like welding. Up to P20 million worth of training equipment was
provided by MEITI-UAE to help welders become world-class.
Among
the first trainees of the 10-day free American Welding Society-Certified
Welding Inspector (AWS-CWI) Preparatory Examination Seminar held in the city
last May are Dabawenyos. Mr. Gayona said all Tesda trainors all over the
country were among those who took the certification exam last July 29, the
results of which are yet to be released.
“The
result of the exam will help us determine if we need to make changes in our
curriculum so that our welders can level up to the global standards,” he said.
The AWS-CWI certification is recognized by the world’s welding industry so
welders with AWS certification will have an edge over the others, he added.
Mr.
Gayona said welders are highly in demand all over the world including the
construction industry, shipyard industry and fabricator industry. He said the various
technical and vocational trainings provided by Tesda aside from welding open
new world of opportunities for Dabawenyo workers.
Tesda
XI is eyeing 62 thousands graduates under the Technical Vocational Education
and Training (TVET) program year after it achieved its target of 58 thousand
graduates in 2012. Out of the 58,000 TVET graduates last year, around 85
percent were expected to get certification assessment.
However,
Mr. Gayona said not all of the TVET graduates will take an assessment exam for
a variety of reasons.”Some will undergo more training since they are not yet
confident about their skills while others will be concerned with their
finances,” he said.
He
said 65 percent of their graduates last year got certified and 60 percent of
those who were certified are now employed mostly in the metals and engineering
industry. Tesda XI conducted a profiling of priority industries last year to
help solve the problem of job mismatch and came up with five priority
industries for the region including metals and engineering, tourism,
agriculture, information and communication technology and construction.
