What matters more--knowledge or skills?
This was the gist of the two-day encounter among 17 TESDA trainers from Luzon as they battled it out in skills and trade expertise in machining, welding and carpentry in the 1st Zonal Trainers Encounter.
Held at the Puerto Princesa School of Arts and Trades (PPSAT) workshops, the skills encounter proved to be a battle of stamina between old and young generation of trainers.
Given a 12-hour production time, the trainers pushed their physical, technical, and mental capabilities to the limits to outdo and outpace their colleagues in producing and finishing the test piece within the time.
In welding, the trainers were tasked to produce a wheelchair. In machining, the test piece is a metal wood vice and wooden sink cabinet for carpentry trade.
Declared as winners were Michael L. Manalo of Simeon Suan Vocational and Technical College for welding, Lauro M. Serafin of Regional Training Center-Baguio for machining, Allan M. Leander of Provincial Training Center-Baler for carpentry. The winners each received a certificate and a specially-designed glass trophy.
Jointly organized by the Office for TESDA Technology Institutions and TESDA Region IV-B led by and the PPSAT as host, the event gathered all trainers who were declared winners in their respective regional encounters. It highlights the value of trainers in tech-voc education in generating the country’s skilled manpower. In addition, it brings out the level of expertise and technical knowledge in a competition environment and helps build self-confidence of TTI trainers.
The Trainers Encounter also provided an opportunity for trainers to realize the importance of continuing learning to enhance one’s knowledge and skills to become more effective tech-voc trainer and render quality training.
The declared winners in this zonal encounter will meet and match with the other winners in the forthcoming Zonal Encounters for Visayas and Mindanao. Eventually, the zonal winners from each island clusters will vie for recognition and prestige at national level in the National Encounter.
