# **II. Dual Training System in the Philippines**

TESDA was established in 1994 and mandated by law to formulate coordinated and fullyintegrated technical education and skills development policies, plans, and programs.<sup>11</sup> TESDA administers competency assessments and certifications with the intent of professionalizing midskilled workers. It develops competency standards and qualifications, coupled with training standards and assessment instruments, which serve as a foundation for the registration, accreditation, and delivery of various programs. TESDA also provides equitable access and provision of programs to the growing number of TVET clients (Figure 1). It funds programs and projects for technical education and skills development and supports TVET institutions (TVIs) through trainer development programs, curriculum and materials development, career guidance and placement, and scholarship programs.

The vocational training programs are delivered in three modes of training, namely (a) institutionbased (school-based and center-based), (b) enterprise-based, and (c) community-based. Among the three modes, the enterprise-based mode comprises the smallest share (Table 1). The composition of enrollment and graduation in 2016 demonstrates that institution-based training (delivered by schools and TVIs) accounted for 51 percent and 49 percent of the total enrollment and graduates, respectively. Enrollment figures from 2010 to 2016 indicate an uptick in enrollees and graduates of the institution-based mode, which may be attributed to a 57 percent increase in the number of TVIs (TVIs totaled 4,733 in 2013 and a majority were private). The enterprise-based mode broadly maintained a relatively low share of approximately 3 percent.

There are three distinct program types within the enterprise-based mode: (a) apprenticeship, (b) learnership, and (c) the DTS. The DTS uniquely involves theoretical instruction and is jointly implemented by TVIs and companies, while apprenticeship and learnership programs predominantly provide skills training in TESDA-approved partner companies for a maximum of six or three months, respectively. In the DTS, schools and partnering companies share the responsibility of delivering well-coordinated learning experiences. Trainees spend about 40 percent of the total learning time in school and 60 percent in companies for hands-on training. The duration of the program varies depending on the complexity of training content. On average, the DTS programs span a total of 1.5 to 2 years, consisting of about six months of in-school learning and 10 months of in-company training. Trainees also receive an allowance of up to 75 percent of the minimum wage rate. Available statistics on the enterprise-based mode are limited, but the DTS accounts for about 40 percent of all enterprise-based programs regulated by TESDA, with apprenticeship and learnership programs accounting for 25 percent and 35 percent respectively.<sup>12</sup> The Philippine government offers tax incentives to encourage the participation of companies in the DTS. Per the Republic Act No. 7986, “they shall be allowed to deduct from their taxable income the amount of fifty percent (50%) of the actual system expenses paid to the Accredited Dual Training System Educational Institution for the establishment’s trainees, provided that such expenses shall not exceed five percent (5%) of their total direct labor expenses but in no case to exceed twenty-five million pesos (P25 million) a year.” In 2015, 706 TESDA-accredited partner

> 11 Republic Act No. 7796, also known as the TESDA Act of 1994.

> 12 Orbeta 2016.

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