A STEP HIGHER: DOING MORE TO UPGRADE SKILLS, IMPROVE LIVES

_Contestants

_Coaches

_{School Principals and Administrators}

_{Division and Regional Education Supervisors}

_{Ladies and Gentlemen}

_{Good Evening!}

 

_{I am happy to see all of us here gathered for the 7th Student Technologists and Entrepreneurs of the Philippines-National Skills Development and Competitions.}

This 7th STEP-NSDC is quite an achievement of sorts for all of us as stakeholders and champions of technical, vocational, technological and entrepreneurial skills development in the country. Indeed it must be because significant changes have been made in our contest packages making it more relevant and rubric-based. This is also the first time that technical-vocational skills are treated as a separate category in the STEP skills competitions where only the 280 technical-vocational schools are qualified to compete. And as we scan the pages of our history, we see the increasing list of generous supporters who contributed so much for skills and entrepreneurship development as to deserve our sincere gratitude and recognition.

_{I am proud of these developments. This is no mean feat for an organization and program that thrives only because of our common passion and shared commitment for skills development and our collective aspirations for our country.}

 

_{This is the same passion and commitment that we urgently need right now as we brace ourselves for the debilitating effects of the world financial crisis which will come to our shores sooner than we can imagine. Recession has already hit Japan, Singapore and other Asian countries not to mention many European countries and the United States of America.}

 

_{Economists predict the Philippines will be hit hard. This translates to increase in the prices of commodities, lay-offs and lesser spending from ordinary Filipinos which could cause a stand-still economy that}

_{could further lead to a recession similar to what other countries are experiencing right now.}

 

_{In times like these, we need to adopt a self-help attitude. This is what we want to seriously advocate because no one else will help our country but ourselves. Being able to fend for ourselves without depending on anyone seems to be best under this critical situation. This is what skills and entrepreneurship development are all about. Learning to be skilled and entrepreneurial is learning to independent, depending only on our own.}

 

_{This is where our goals in the Student Technologists and Entrepreneurs of the Philippines, Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan, Technology and Livelihood Education and Technical-Vocational Education come in handy. Even before this crisis showed its ugly head, we have been preparing our pupils and students with skills and entrepreneurship development through classroom instructions, organizational activities and competitions.}

 

_{Economies that do well and survive hard times are those supported by skilled individuals and entrepreneurs because they create employment and take the risks to generate these. They can be relied upon.}

 

_{With this in mind, we, in the technical, vocational, technological and entrepreneurial world, need to review how we do things to be able to adapt perfectly under the circumstances.}

 

_{The world is transforming, and it is transforming really fast. A new world order is in the making as a result of the world financial crisis which is similar in proportion to the 911 World Trade Center bombing. We cannot ignore being in the middle of all the changes without transforming along. Each of us, without exception, is very much part of the every tick and tack of the world, and our failure to recognize and adapt well to these transformations will be to our disadvantage.}

 

_{We cannot afford to lose our competitive edge. Our human resource is our fortress. It is as important as any other available resource. This is why we need to work harder than before to measure up with the parameters of globalization and world trade, and learning a skill and mastering it should be foremost in our agenda. Without the skill that the world market demands from us, we cannot compete. Without the skill that we need in order to compete, we will remain as mere bystanders who are left in the cold to scour for a living – ironically in a world full of opportunities.}

 

_{It is therefore imperative that we should develop our skills early. For the Student Technologists and Entrepreneurs of the Philippines (STEP), this is our goal. By engaging our schoolchildren in interactive organizational activities and healthy competitions, STEP creates a compelling awareness of the increasing importance of skills in the world especially in this day and age when it is not anymore enough to just learn and master a skill – one needs to achieve flexibility by constantly updating a skill as the economy changes in order to be competitive and productive. From where we stand as an organization and as a co-curricular program in Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan (EPP), in Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE), and in Technical-Vocational Education (TVE), we have yet to achieve a certain degree of acceptability in the world stage. And although the STEP organization and program is already seven years old, ours is just beginning to make hay and stack.}

 

_{If we need to attain the fullness of our existence as an effective program and organization within the Department of Education system, then it is necessary that we focus also on areas where more schoolchildren are benefited, where the effect is in the grassroots.}

 

_{This is where the school-based implementation of the STEP as an organization becomes significant. We have been overly focused on skills competitions that we unknowingly missed this very important aspect. Let it not be said then that STEP is only about competitions – for this is what we collectively engender others to believe. The skills competitions are necessary but they constitute only a part of all there is in STEP. While we need to improve on the conduct of our skills competitions, let us also mobilize ourselves and others to give serious attention to the organizational activities of STEP. This is where all of us, without exception, have been remiss.}

 

_{To help us stay on track, we need to always go back and refer to the mandated thrusts and activities of the STEP as outlined in DepED Order No. 35, s. 2008. These mandated thrusts and activities should guide us all in the holistic understanding of STEP. They are referred as mandated because they must be implemented.}

 

_{A review of these mandated thrusts and activities reveals exactly the disproportionate attention that we have been giving skills competitions which constitute only an eight of the entire thrusts dedicated mostly in school-based organizational projects and activities. What we envision in issuing this policy is to enable our schools most especially to implement projects and activities that bear direct significance in skills development such as, but not limited to, school-based skills training for pupils and students, teachers’ capability training, and entrepreneurial endeavors. It is in the schools where we should concentrate the activities of the STEP to make it more relevant and to reach out for more schoolchildren who are in need.}

 

_{We also need to upgrade the skills that we teach our pupils and students. In deciding what skills to teach, we should consider a lot of factors which includes the prescribed learning competencies. Also, would the skill give our students the competitive edge in the Philippine and international job markets? Would the skill be relevant? Would it be economically valuable?}

 

_{Ultimately, the future of the STEP depends largely on each and every one of you who are in the classroom and in the field. Let us do our best to not fail our pupils and students in this present circumstance. Let us do more because we can do more with STEP. We just need to be more creative and selfless.}

 

_{As I end, let me thank Secretary Jesli A. Lapus for his unwavering support to the STEP and skills development. Thank you also for the assistance of the Bureau of Secondary Education headed by Director Lolita M. Andrada, the Technical-Vocational Education Task Force headed by Director Ricardo de Lumen, and the Bureau of Elementary Education headed by Director Yolanda S. Quijano. Thank you also to DepED-CAR, DepED Baguio City and to Baguio City National High School for hosting this year’s 7th STEP-NSDC.}

 

_{To all of you, thank you very much and God Bless!}