Programs aim to address equity and access by providing direct financial assistance to deserving TVET enrollees across all regions in the country. The scholarship programs currently being implemented include the following:
Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA)
This program was established through Section 8 of Republic Act No. 8545, otherwise known as the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) Act. PESFA offers educational grants to qualified and deserving college freshmen both in degree and non-degree courses. The program seeks to:
- extend financial assistance to marginalized but deserving students in post-secondary non-degree courses;
- promote TVET;
- contribute to the development of a competent skilled workforce; and
- assist private institutions in their development efforts by assuring a steady supply of enrollees to their course offerings.
The PESFA directed the beneficiaries on the choices of careers to the critical skills requirements of in-demand jobs in the labor market. It also allows for equity distribution of the opportunities made available through government subsidies.
•Implementing Guidelines
Training for Work Scholarship (TWSP)
This program provides immediate interventions to meet the need for highly critical skills. The program has two-fold objectives:
1.to purposively drive TVET provision to available jobs through incentives and appropriate training programs that are directly connected to existing jobs for immediate employment, both locally and overseas,
2.to build and strengthen the capacity and capability of TVET institutions in expanding and improving the delivery of quality, efficient and relevant training programs that meet job requirements, including programs for higher levels of technology.
The program was launched in May 2006 with funding from the Office of the President and mainstreamed in the regular budget in 2008. This program is a response to the clamor of industry to address the critical skills shortages in priority sectors, particularly the Business Process Outsourcing, metals and engineering, construction and tourism, among others.
Special Training for Employment Program (STEP)
STEP is a community-based specialty training program that addresses the specific skills needs of the communities and promote employment, particularly through entrepreneurial, self-employment and service-oriented activities. Training programs offered are generally short-term or modules based on the Training Regulations promulgated by TESDA. Its objective is to provide skills and training opportunities for the beneficiaries in the barangays/ communities to make them employable and productive.
Both public and private techvoc providers, but mostly local government training centers and TESDA Technology Institutions, deliver the training programs under STEP.
The beneficiaries of STEP receive the following assistance: free training and competency assessment, starter toolkits and training allowance of sixty pesos (Php 60.00) per day for the duration of the training.
The program was introduced only in 2014 in line with thrust of expanding the reach of TVET to the grassroots.
Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTEA)
A program established through R.A. No. 19031 providing free tuition and other school fees in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) and state-run Technical Vocational Institutions (STVIs): establishing the Tertiary Education Subsidy and Student Loan Program (SLP), and strengthening the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST).
Free TVET in Post-Secondary State-Run TVIs (STVI)
All Filipino learners who shall enroll in ay TESDA-registered TVET program leading to a non-degree certificate of diploma (including bundled programs) offered by STVIs shall be eligible for the free TVET provision, provided that they comply with the admission and retention policies and existing residency rules of the STVIs.
Tertiary Education and Subsidy (TES)
The TES program is established to benefit all Filipino learners who shall enroll in post-secondary TVET programs registered under TESDA and offered in all TESDA-recognized privately-run institutions, subject to prioritization and availability of funds, provided that they comply with the admission and retention policies and existing residency rules of the institutions.
Tulong Trabaho Program (TTSP)
STEP is a community-based specialty training program that addresses the specific skills needs of the communities and promote employment, particularly through entrepreneurial, self-employment and service-oriented activities. Training programs offered are generally short-term or modules based on the Training Regulations promulgated by TESDA. Its objective is to provide skills and training opportunities for the beneficiaries in the barangays/ communities to make them employable and productive.
Both public and private techvoc providers, but mostly local government training centers and TESDA Technology Institutions, deliver the training programs under STEP.
The beneficiaries of STEP receive the following assistance: free training and competency assessment, starter toolkits and training allowance of sixty pesos (Php 60.00) per day for the duration of the training.
The program was introduced only in 2014 in line with thrust of expanding the reach of TVET to the grassroots.
Tsuper Iskolar
Implementation of the Stakeholder Support Mechanism Component Under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to capacitate the stakeholders of the program through skills training and assessment.
Rice Extension Services Program (RESP)
A program under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for teaching skills on rice crop production, modern rice farming techniques, seed production, farm mechanization, and knowledge/technology transfer through farm schools nationwide.
Coconut Farmers Scholarship Program
Implementation of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) under R.A. No. 1154 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act to provide the capacity building and learning needs of the coconut farmers to increase their income and improve the productivity of the coconut industry.