Four out of 10 Technical Education and Skills Development Authority graduates did not undergo assessment for national certifications, Senator Win Gatchalian bared on Thursday.

During the Senate hearing on the TESDA's proposed 2024 budget, Gatchalian raised the TESDA's decreasing targets of its vocational program graduates that went through assessments.

The target number of Technical Vocational and Education Training graduates who underwent assessment also decreased from 70 percent in 2023 to 60 percent in 2024.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate basic education committee, noted that TESDA graduates must have certification to get employed as employers will value the certification of such courses.

"In a perfect world, we want 100 percent assessment. Everyone who took TESDA courses should undergo assessment, and we want them to pass the certification. So how come in 2022, it's only 64 percent and how come the targets are getting lower?", he added.

TESDA Deputy Director General Aniceto Bertiz III, however, said those who don't undergo assessments and receive certifications are from courses with "no training regulations." Some courses include creative web design, information and communication technology, and language training courses.

Gatchalian asked again: "Hindi ba, before you can train, you need training regulations, and training regulations are also required in order to be assessed. Those are technical courses and I would assume that the value of those courses is in the certification."

TESDa Certification Office Executive Director Maria Susan Dela Rama further explained that programs with and without training regulations are both registered with TESDA.

She added that programs with training regulations are the only ones with competency assessment tools, while some programs, including those that are enterprise-based and community-based, have no existing training regulations.

Dela Rama said that private providers can offer courses without training regulations to meet the demand in their communities, provinces, and regions.

While coping with the demand and developing all the training regulations, TESDA ensured that registered programs have facilities, trainers, equipment, and curriculum, among other requirements that comply with industry standards.

Further, Gatchalian is also pushing for the certification of senior high graduates who took the technical-vocational-livelihood track to boost their employability.

He then proposed to include P1 billion in the 2024 proposed budget to certify around 400,000 TVL learners.