The Cordillera State Institute of Technical Education (CSITE) was officially launched on Sept. 9 at its main campus in Military Cut-Off, Baguio City.
Under Republic Act 11192, the CSITE will be a state skills institute in the Cordillera under the supervision of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, which will incorporate the Baguio City School of Arts and Trades (BCSAT), the Tesda Regional Training Center-Baguio City; the Tesda provincial training centers in Abra, Ifugao, Benguet, Kalinga, and Mountain Province; the local government unit provincial training center in Apayao, and other state-run technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) in the region.
The integration of the Tesda technology institutions in the region into one system-one institution was envisioned and conceptualized by former BCSAT Administrator David B. Bungallon and former Tesda-CAR Director Francisco B. Jucar, Jr.
Baguio Rep. Mark O. Go, principal author of the law, said the launching of CSITE is a giant leap for the people of Cordillera and for tech-voc education and training in the country.
“RA 11192 is a landmark legislation, the first of its kind in creating a tech-voc institute mandated to cater to an entire region. The creation of CSITE is in response to the rapidly changing technical skills priorities and competency demands. It seeks to increase the absorptive capacity and improve the institutional capabilities of our existing tech-voc institutions in the Cordilleras,” he said.
The integration would create a synergy leading to significant improvements in how tech-voc education in the region is administered and developed and ensure Cordillerans have access to quality and up-to-date technical education and skills training, consistent with the needs of Cordillera and responsive to the demands of today.
The creation of more polytechnic institutions in the country is also among the strategic plans of Tesda for the coming years, and CSITE shall serve as the model for plans currently in the pipeline.
The creation of CSITE is a genuine investment on human development and a bold statement of faith on the strength and potential of the people in the Cordillera.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Director General for TESD Operations Aniceto D. Bertiz III said it is imperative to strengthen the country’s tech-voc education to immediately effect a major shift towards the development of a world-class Filipino workforce equipped with practical technical skills.
He said this is due to recent major developments challenging the Philippine higher and technical-vocational education priorities and mandates, namely the adoption of the Philippine qualifications framework; the Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic integration; and the rapidly changing technical skills priorities.
“Through this endeavor, the institute will play a pivotal role in primarily helping the students and out-of-school youths and residents from low-income families, including persons with disability, in the Cordillera to become productive, self-reliant, and to be developed into a globally competitive middle to high-level skilled labor force to hasten the social and economic development of the region, in particular, as well as meet the manpower placement needs of both local and international labor market,” Bertiz said.
Bungallon, now executive director of the National Institute for Technical Education and Skills Development said he feels emotional and fulfilled as he witnessed the launching of the CSITE’s operation.
“We are happy that with Rep. Go we shared the same vision, an institution that will be responsive to higher-level TVET aligned with industry demands and global standards. Better employment of graduates that impacts economic development for the Cordillera.”
The institute will soon offer a wide array of courses of the following Tesda-registered tech-voc and short-term training programs in agriculture related trainings, industrial technology and hard trades, tourism and hospitality, health and wellness trainings, basic business literacy training, computer literacy and information technology-related skills, and other preferred priority skills and trades training courses relevant to the needs of the localities served within the operational radius of the institute and the Cordillera. – Press release
