TESDA urges returning OFWs to take up online agri courses

MANILA, Philippines — Returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were advised to take online courses in agriculture offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

TESDA said tourism became the most in demand course among OFWs and their dependents with 23,818 enrollees from March to December 2020.

Although courses in the tourism sector can further enrich the skills of returning OFWs, TESDA Director General Isidro Lapeña said learning some skills under the agriculture sector would also benefit them, especially during the pandemic.

“It became more difficult to earn this pandemic because many Filipinos have lost their jobs and livelihood especially in the Tourism sector,” Lapeña said Thursday in a statement.

“However, we can also take the courses under the agriculture sector so we can ensure that more of us will know how to produce our own food for our families and loved ones,” he added.

He said former OFWs can take their agri-related skills to the next level by becoming agripreneurs.

Face-to-face training under the agri-fishery sector is also now available aside from the online courses.

In the agriculture sector which has nine courses, only 2,679 OFWs are enrolled for the Fruit Grower course by the end 2020, while no OFW has enrolled in the eight other courses.

Meanwhile, following tourism as the most in demand course was human health or healthcare courses with a total of 12,368 enrollees, and then entrepreneurship courses with a total of 11,416 enrollees.

TESDA said its online program reached a total of 1,238,522 registrants at the end of 2020 since the start of the pandemic. Of this figure, 86,100 of the registrants are categorized as OFWs and their dependents. Zac Sarao, Trainee

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