Education’s loss, construction industry’s gain

With her petite build, nobody would think she was capable of operating earth excavating heavy equipment .

Myrna Pitaluna, 26, ended up driving a backhoe in a construction company.

Pitaluna has an Education degree from the University of Visayas in Toledo City, her hometown but remained unemployed after graduation in 2007.

“I really wanted to teach but the demand for teachers is very low,” Pitaluna said.

Being the eldest in a brood of four, Pitaluna took upon herself the responsibility of helping her family escape the cycle of poverty.

Pitaluna applied as a heavy equipment operator with P180 daily allowance.

“I now know how to operate bulldozers, mini ‘dozers and payloaders, but I specialize in backhoes,” she said.

Pitaluna said her first assignment was to excavate material for a construction along N. Bacalso Avenue.

“Some jeepney drivers would stop and look at me in disbelief that I’m driving a backhoe. I was amused but at the same time challenged,” Pitaluna said.

Pitaluna recalled being told she doesn’t deserve to be in the construction industry. “I stood firm in my belief that there should be gender equality even in the construction industry,” she said.

After her stint as heavy equipment operator, she then trained as a welder and was transferred to a manufacturing department in 2009 and later became a supervisor and trainer.

She enrolled in Assessment Methodology/Training Methodology at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) in 2009 to become a certified assessor and trainer of a specialized field.

She later focused on steel fabrication and carpentry where she was promoted as supervisor.

There were times when she would compare herself with her classmates who are working in airconditioned offices and banks but she kept telling herself “I can do what they are doing but they can’t do my job.”

“I did not stop learning and went on acquiring national certification from Tesda. My employer helped me rise from the ranks. Now I am handling more than 250 welders, painters and carpenters,” she said.

Pitaluna receives a monthly salary of P14,000 as a regular staff member.

She was able to improve their shanty in Toledo into a two-storey house.

Her achievements did not go unnoticed as she was awarded by Tesda as this year’s “Batang Idol.”

Pitaluna wants to become an engineer.

Currently, she is planning to enroll in Civil Engineering under the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP), a ladderized education program, in a university in Cebu.