The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in Davao Region (TESDA-11) and the Army’s 10th Infantry Division (10ID) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to further improve the skills of qualified individuals through community-based training and scholarship programs.

In a statement Thursday, Maj. Gen. Jose Eriel Niembra, 10ID commander, described the partnership with TESDA-11 as “timely and important.”

“This MOU with TESDA-11 will strengthen our cooperation and efforts by providing technical education, especially in far-flung and indigenous people (IP) communities, as well as preventing the resurgence of insurgency that has been our problem for the past five decades,” Niembra said.

TESDA-11 and the 10ID signed the agreement at Camp General Manuel T. Yan Sr. in Mawab town, Davao de Oro on May 9.

In the MOU, both have signified their commitment to providing skills training to the IPs, former rebels, and their dependents; and to support the establishment of community enterprises from the Barangay Development Program (BDP) priority areas, and geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) communities in the region.

The initiative focuses on various technical education and training initiatives that include the development and mobilization of community-based trainers; the establishment of social enterprise development facilities; and sharing of equipment for training, among others. (PNA)