The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority has underscored the importance of private institutions' collaboration and partnership in delivering high-quality and relevant tech-voc training to Filipinos, a high official said.

The complementarity between public and private education is vital in pursuing an area-based and demand-driven TVET (Technical Vocational Education and Training), Tesda Director General Danilo Cruz said during the 21st Human Resource and Skills Development Conference in Davao City recently.

"Tesda cannot do this alone. Tesda considers all the training institutions, administrators, trainers, assessors and support service workers as valuable partners. This is because they are the most important link to Tesda's primary customers." he said.

Tesda implements the area-based and demand-driven TVET to be responsive to the critical needs defined by the industries and employers to produce rightfully skilled workers in specific areas or localities.

Moreover, Cruz also said that the need for cooperation of the private sector to widen and expand the reach of TVET programs to underprivileged, marginalized sectors, especially in far-flung and hard-to-reach areas or localities.

"These are the reasons why we would like to engage you in the conversation to chart our courses of action and define our roles and responsibilities towards a shared vision of TVET that is responsive to the future of the workforce." he added.

For his part, Deputy Director General for TESDA Operations Aniceto Bertiz III has encouraged training centers to offer higher-level TVET and training programs needed by the industry to ensure the employment of tech-voc graduates.

"Let's focus on these training regulations that we need. (With) our training regulations and courses, dapat andyan ang industriya because at the end of the day, they are the takers," he said.

The HRSD Conference is an annual gathering of TVET Institutions and stakeholders to promote tech-voc advocacy, provide information, and discuss trends, issues, and challenges in the institutions among participants and stakeholders, for its policy reforms and improvement of practices.