The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) said it aims to improve the accessibility of certifications and work opportunities for over a million skilled workers and students through its newly launched mobile application.
“The TVET ecosystem in the Philippines is around 1.6 to 1.8 million Filipinos a year,” TESDA Director General Jose Francisco B. Benitez told reporters in an interview on Thursday.
“There’s a mismatch, either a mismatch in skills or a mismatch in access to information as to where the jobs are and what it would take to get there, so this app hopes to help fill that gap,” he added.
TESDA’s Skills Passport application aims to be an “all-in-one” platform for training, certifications, employment, and scholarship services.
The application will serve as a “digital identity and portfolio” for users, where they can store digital records of the TESDA National Certificate (NC) verifiable by potential employers through a QR-enabled resume.
Job portals will be linked on the app to help users find jobs aligned with their skills.
“The learner has an option to link their training to their job…There are lots of jobs out there, and more jobs, actually, than there are unemployed Filipinos,” Mr. Benitez said. “Even if you don’t have a TESDA certificate per se, you can basically send your application through the app.”
“But obviously, the app is better if you have a TESDA certification because then they can verify the veracity of the certificate that you have,” he added.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the unemployment rate in the country reached 4.4% or 2.26 million in December 2025. This is higher than the 3.1% or 1.63 million recorded in the same period last year.
A smart guide, Professor K, is available on the app to help users with career paths and choices.
Gig workers are also encouraged to utilize the application’s micro-credential features.
“We’ve developed micro-credentials, which will appear in the app,” Mr. Benitez said. “If there are transversal skills and or very specific specialization skills that are not an NC…you can have those micro-credential badges.”
“I think, in many ways, help address not just unemployment but underemployment, hopefully,” he added. — Almira Louise S. Martinez
