Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos on Tuesday said he had signed a memorandum of agreement with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Suharto Mangudadatu, to upscale the technical skills of department personnel especially on digital literacy and visual graphics design, among others.

Abalos said the program will be carried out through the DILG-BOOST (Building Opportunities and Overall Advancement for Personnel Through Skills Training of TESDA) Project.

The DILG-BOOST Project focuses on providing opportunities for livelihood training programs to empower DILG personnel to acquire practical skills, for them to find supplemental source of income to enable holistic growth.

Interested DILG personnel and their qualified dependents will also benefit from the free technical education and skills development training.

Abalos said the Department is grateful to TESDA for the opportunity to encourage “holistic growth to its employees, consultants, and dependents of employees through the pursuit of continuous learning and training in technical education and skills development.”

“Thank you for this BOOST Program. Nakita n’yo naman bibigyan ng skills training ang ating mga kawani dito. Sinisigurado ng DILG na anuman ang kasarian ay pantay-pantay ang karapatan, pantay-pantay ang trato at pantay-pantay ang oportunidad,” Abalos said.

The project is specifically designed to provide opportunities for retirees to prepare and explore options that will extend their retirement benefits and to support the implementation of the Magna Carta of Women or Republic Act (RA) No. 9710.

Under the MOA, the DILG is tasked to identify and endorse qualified participants and ensure that they shall finish the training program, and undergo mandatory competency assessment.

For dependents, those who are unemployed, underemployed, out-of-school youths (OSY), and individuals from disadvantaged and marginalized groups shall be prioritized in the training program.

On the other hand, TESDA shall provide free skills training and competency assessment to qualified DILG-endorsed participants, and award certificates to those who passed their respective competency assessments.

Mangudadatu, on the other hand, said the MOA is a "significant milestone in our collaborative journey to uplift and empower the Filipino people."

"We envision a future where every woman is capacitated to perform as well as their male counterparts and not be limited to gender stereotypes," he added.