“Ang kagandahan sa Dualtech at sa kanyang adopted dual system, una, you got exposed to various skills,” he said. “ Mayroong electrical, mechanical, electronics and automation. From that platform, hindi mo pa man alam which particular specialization [you would pursue], it opens many doors for you to explore. Ako, initially, I wanted to become an electrical engineer. Just so happened that my exposure was in automation and robotics. So madami talagang oportunidad.”

One of the challenges technical education is facing nowadays is the common misconception of difficulty in career progression compared to degree holders. In an attempt to eradicate this negative public mindset, thus celebrating the success stories of tech-voc graduates in the fields, specifically, of manufacturing and servicing, DZAS invited several partner companies of Dualtech Center. Those who openly rendered their time for an interview were TUV Rheinland, Allegro Beverages, HKR Equipment and Gentrade International.

1994 is a significant year for both Technical Education Skills Development Authority and Dualtech Training Center. It is the founding year of TESDA through a law that mandates all training institutions to help prepare Philippine workforce. For Dualtech Center, it is the time when the Philippine government recognized through a law the dual- training system which Dualtech pioneered in 1982.

The story of Basilan scholars

The island province of Basilan is located just off the southern coast of the Zamboanga Peninsula. It is the largest island of the Sulu Archipelago. Basilan is a third-class province in terms of gross provincial income. And, ranked 20 among the Philippines’ 80 provinces in terms of incidences of poverty.

True to its word to “serve the fringes of society”, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) visited Basilan to campaign for students for scholarship and presented Dualtech as an option. It was quite easy to convince young men to enrol at Dualtech; to escape from poverty. Financial problems being the cause for dropping out of school is repeated often in Basilan.

The Department of Education, City of Naga ALS Division invited Dualtech Center to offer technical training for its ALS learners from Naga, and Carcar Cities in Cebu to help them become employment-ready. The learners had undergone Alternative Learning System (ALS) education program which is designed for those who have no access to formal education.

ABS-CBN Corporate Services Group and Innovation Team conducted a one-day Design Thinking Workshop for Dualtech associates. This project was initiated by ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya to help Dualtech respond better to current and future challenges.

Mark Nepomuceno, Head of ABS-CBN Corporate Services, shared that this tool is used by ABS-CBN “Globally, Design Thinking ang ginagamit. It is a way of looking at challenges and issues so that mahanapan ng opportunity na hindi kadalasang nahahanapan ng iba. It will be a fun workshop.”