BAGUIO CITY — The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading House Bill 7264 or the creation of the Cordillera State Polytechnic Skills Institute (CSPSI), Baguio lone district Representative Mark Go said on Thursday evening.
The House Bill integrates the training centers and supervised state-run technical-vocational institutions of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in the region, including the Baguio School of Arts and Trade.
The TESDA Regional Training Center in Baguio shall form the main campus of the Institute, while the TESDA Provincial Training Centers in Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province, and the local government-run Provincial Training Centers in Apayao shall be converted into extension campuses of the CSPSI.
The CSPI will be under the supervision of TESDA.
“The creation of CSPSI would strengthen the country’s technical-vocational education to immediately effect a major shift towards the development of world-class Filipino workforce,” Go said in a statement released to the media.
The statement further said the integrated facility would equip the Cordillerans with practical technical skills of global competence and caliber responsive to the needs of both the domestic and global job markets.
“This will further boost the capability of more Filipinos and be aligned with the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) integration framework and other international agreements for technical-vocational skills,” said Go.
Go said the institute would also endeavor to bring about greater industry-academe collaboration and critical partnerships with local and international institutions to forge mutual skills benchmarking standards for employable skills, increasing the possibility of getting a gainful employment, and acquiring practical livelihood and entrepreneurial skills.
“The establishment of CSPSI is aligned with the recent major developments challenging the Philippine higher and technical-vocational education priorities and mandates making it more viable to support the development needs for a robust inclusive economy of Baguio City and the rest of the integrated localities in the Cordillera,” Go said. **PNA
