The Bangsamoro Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education Technical Education and Skills Development (MBHTE-TESD) will start the construction of two training centers in Tawi-Tawi this month.
Dr. Maryam Nuruddin, the provincial head of Tawi-Tawi MBHTE-Technical Education Skills Development (TESD), said one municipal training center (MTC) will each be established in Panglima Sugala and Simunul towns.
Nuruddin said the construction of the two MTCs is envisioned to being national and Bangsamoro governments’ services closer to the people of Tawi-Tawi.
She said the proposed training centers could also help intensify economic activity in the province with the provision of easier access to skills training.
Each of the MTC is worth P5 million, funded under the general appropriations of the MBHTE-TESD. Ground-breaking of the proposed projects is expected to be held in the third week of October, Nuruddin said.
“This will also boost Technical Vocational (TechVoc) Education and Training services in those municipalities and enable the province to produce more skilled people ready for job or livelihood after completion of training,” Nuruddin said.
“Another P5 million has also been allocated by MBHTE-TESD for the tools and equipment of the MTC in Simunul,” she added.
Nuruddin also disclosed that TESD Tawi-Tawi has also implemented the United Nations Development Programme’s “Enhanced Manufacturing of Protective Wear and Equipment for a Covid-19 Response” project in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Under this initiative, she said, selected groups were given sewing machines and raw materials to help dressmakers-turned-PPE manufacturers participate in producing personal protective equipment with sufficient manufacturing means.
“In line with this program, we have chosen two groups as training beneficiaries, the policewomen organization and the Mana Tailoring Shop, which will produce PPEs to include face masks, to help sustain the increasing demand for pandemic protective wears in the country,” Nuruddin said.