Over 1,000 avail of free courses

More than a thousand out-of-school youth and indigents in the sixth district availed of technical vocational courses for free.

The Tesda-accredited courses, which include bartending, food and beverage, housekeeping, commercial cooking and plumbing, will be offered at the Benedicto College on A.S. Fortuna Street, Mandaue City.

Cebu 6th District Rep. Gabriel Luis “Luigi” Quisumbing inked an agreement with Ambassador Frank Benedicto, founder and president of Benedicto College, for the beneficiaries’ scholarship.

Quisumbing will allocate funds from his Priority Development Fund to pay for the tuition of the students.

During the signing ceremony yesterday, the mobile training van equipped with the facilities needed for the training was also launched at the school grounds.

Quisumbing requested the school if they could send the van to remote areas for students who would take advantage of the free training but could not afford the fare in going to the school. The school accepted his request.

Engr. Danilo Montana, chief of the Provincial Operations Division of Tesda Cebu, said the students will be given a certificate by Tesda after completing the training.

Elywin Jimenez, 35, resident of barangay Labogon, Mandaue City and  a mother of three, said he was very thankful after she qualified for the scholarship. She said she personally applied at the office of Quisumbing after hearing from a friend regarding the scholarship program.

Jimenez enrolled in housekeeping at Benedicto College.

An SPA therapist in one of the resorts in Lapu-Lapu City, Jimenez said she would like to shift to another job, thus taking up the course. /CORRESPONDENT NORMAN V. MENDOZA