Tesda may yet turn gov’t workers into vloggers

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

In what could be a nod to social media’s growing influence, its ability to amplify messages, and the lucrative possibilities for its content creators, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) is offering government workers training in new skills, including vlogging, the widespread practice of posting short videos online to attract followers and advertisers.

Content creation is part of Tesda’s thrust of “upskilling, reskilling and retooling” public sector employees, Tesda Deputy Director General Aniceto Bertiz III said in a television interview on Thursday.

“We would like to train different government agencies on how to deliver the different programs, not only in Tesda training methodologies, but those that can benefit our citizens,” Bertiz said.

A memorandum of agreement was signed on Monday between the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Tesda on the agency’s “Tesda Sa Barangay” program, which aims to tap local government units to deliver technical vocational education and training.

Bertiz said Tesda’s online programs for government employees include English proficiency training for customer service, Nihongo and Korean languages, and content creation on social media.

Under the program, Tesda will train DILG employees on “digital literacy, visual graphics design, 21st-century skills, and communications,” Bertiz said.

Big earnings

While no figures have been released, vlogging is expected to attract a lot of applicants who see its profitable aspect.

A 2023 study authored by Filipino academicians Fatima Gaw, Jon Benedik Bunquin, Samuel Cabbuag, Jose Mari Lanuza, Noreen Sapalo and Al-Habbyel Yusoph showed that “political influencers”—one of the tribes of vloggers who have since cashed in on the trend—earned between P600 million and P1.5 billion in the 2022 presidential and vice presidential elections for conducting covert campaign operations.

The authors identified 1,425 online accounts that were engaged in campaign influencing. Most were on video-based platforms, such as YouTube and TikTok, followed by networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

The study, published by the international nonprofit group Internews, cited reports that social media influencers are among the most well-paid, “with salaries documented to range from P10,000 to P25,000 in 2017.”

By the researchers’ conservative estimate, these accounts earned at least P600 million if they were on a “retainer” basis or at least P1.5 billion if they had a “pay-per-post” deal with their clients.

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In August 2021, the Bureau of Internal Revenue reminded content creators to pay the proper taxes. It is estimated that a single post on the Instagram feed and one Instagram story by an influencer with millions of followers could easily fetch P100,000 to P150,000.

Blended learning

Aside from vlogging and digital literacy, Tesda also offers “almost 17,000 registered programs which DILG employees and their target beneficiaries can avail of,” Bertiz said, adding that “blended” training sessions may be conducted online or in person.

DILG employees “can avail of 165 courses anytime in their offices or during their free time, even when they’re using their own gadgets,” he added.

Tesda’s program is open not only for DILG’s central office employees but also for its regional offices, who are then expected to cascade the training to barangay officials.

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Bertiz said Tesda is also rolling out skills training for inmates, solo parents, senior citizens, and out-of-school youth.

“Just recently, we have rolled out a nationwide training course on bookkeeping, which we hope will equip our newly elected [Sangguniang Kabataan] officials, cashiers, and treasurers with skills they would need,” he said. —With a report from Inquirer Research

Sources: Inquirer Archives, internews.org