JOY C. LARANO - Overseas Filipino Worker Welder! Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC II

Every father’s dream is nothing but the best for his family. To be a great provider and be that solid rock his family can depend on.

Joy C. Larano, 40, felt overjoyed when he received the opportunity to work abroad after completing his training and obtaining certification in Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC II back in 2008.

He has tried his luck in the Philippines, and landed so many jobs to provide for his family, having been married at a very young age of 22. As his family was growing and the needs were also increasing the salary, he was earning from his job he has in the country was never enough to supply the needs of his family.

Full of hope to provide a better life for his family, having experienced how hard it is to have barely enough being the son of a farmer and a housekeeper, he never stopped searching for opportunities. This search brought him to enroll in Shielded Metal Arc Welding. He equipped himself with skills upon learning that Welders have been in demand abroad.

True enough, after he got certified, he got hired at an Aramco Project, Powerplant, Oil Refinery, and Jet Fuel Tank as a Welder at Hidada, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

After 6 years of working overseas, he made the decision to finally come home for good and manage their piggery, livestock, and many other businesses that he was able to build from his hard-earned money abroad.

His TESDA experience was indeed a life-changing moment for him as it led him to realize his dreams not only for himself but for his family above all.

A MESSAGE FULL OF INSPIRATION, A CALL FOR A MISSION! REPAIRING A BROKEN PAST TOWARDS A FUNCTIONING PRESENT - Ruben Villacencio’s Ring to Success

A 34-year-old technician named Ruben Villacencio was born and raised in Davao Oriental, San Isidro. He’s the sixth child in their family. He has two elder brothers, two younger sisters, and two younger brothers, and he did not mention the rest of his siblings since he came from a large family. Just like the others struggling financially, he is also a victim of circumstance. His life in the province was quite difficult; his parents couldn’t afford to send him to school. For them to have something to eat, he had to cultivate crops like corn, bananas, and coconuts. Despite this, he finished his elementary education at Laak Davao de Oro.

His parents were even constantly fighting because of different matters; one day, a fight between his parents changed his life. When his father was about to hit his mother, it was Ruben hit at the back and front of the head. It bled a lot. His eyes were affected, which caused him to be half-blind. He recalled it was a painful experience for him, and he can’t even put it into words. At 12, his father died, and he had to stand as a father for his family to survive. He said to himself that he had to multiply his efforts to live a comfortable life. These bitter experiences pushed him to venture into the city and decide to be a working student to sustain his basic needs. The drive he had in his heart to get out of poverty gave him strength.

He was a working student throughout high school and attended only Sunday classes. He worked as a salesman for cellphone accessories at Brgy. Mintal. He had done this for four years until he finished high school. He decided not to enter college, and in 2011, he decided to set up a small business, which is a cellphone repair business. When he was just starting, he was only selling chargers, SIM cards, and cellphone cases. He even borrowed 10,000 pesos as capital from his elder brother. After only a year, his business grew and continues to expand up to this day. 

In 2015, he underwent an assessment in Consumer Electronics Service, which was amended in 2016 to Electronic Products Assembly and Servicing NC II, at the Provincial Training Center Davao. He passed the assessment but wasn’t able to get a national certificate because he lost his claim stub. Years passed, and he decided to enroll in Electronic Product Assembly and Servicing II at the same center because it offers free training and assessment for technicians. According to him, it helped him hone his skills, learn new knowledge, and apply it to his existing business. 

In addition, he has a branch in Tibanban, Governor Generoso, and Davao Oriental. According to him, his business is going well. Both shops offer cellphone accessories and memory cards; he also repairs LCDs and offers mobile wallets to allow his customers to accept cash-in and cash-out. By doing so, he can compare his life and income before moving to the province with what he has now. He is hoping that what he learned in TESDA will help him help other people as well through his business. [SMAC – Ira Monica M. Tan]

FROM A TAINTED SHIRT TO AN ANGLE GRINDER: Mary’s Untold Story!

A mother, fighter, worker, and simple citizen who is full of hope—who is she? She is Mary Joy C. Dorias, PTC–Davao Trainer in SMAW NC I, SMAW NC II, and EIM NCII, and this is her story. 

A 35-year-old woman currently residing in Brgy. Sto. Niño Tugbok District Davao City. Often called Joy, but her name does not match her feelings toward her life. Joy did not finish her studies because of life's circumstances. She was only 18 when she got pregnant with her first child and kept it from her parents out of fear and guilt. Became a single mother when she separated from the father of her three children. Her eldest is a girl, her second child is a boy, and the youngest is a girl. Even if she is not the biological mother of her third child, she treats her as if she was her own. 

Mary is a victim of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse from her ex-partner. She felt caged and miserable and constantly lived in fear, as her ex-partner was also a drug abuser. She dealt with and suffered for almost two years of her life, clinging to the belief that she hoped to have a complete family with her children. Until she was strong enough to let go of her abusive partner, no matter how painful it was. 

At some point, she thought that her suffering would end there. Life tested her. In 2016, she was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma, a common thyroid cancer. From that moment on, she thought life was punishing her; even questioned God about why out of millions of privileged people who could afford treatment, it was given to her. She prayed, begged, and cried inside the church and asked God for a sign that if she was meant to live; expenses for her medication would be freely given to her. She asked for medical assistance from Lingap Services. All of her treatments, medications, and thyroidectomy were all handled by Lingap. She never lost hope; she fought and survived! According to her, miracles happen. 

When Mary was introduced to TESDA, it changed her life. Before training, she worked as a morning construction worker and an evening student. She enrolled in TESDA because she was interested in acquiring new skills. She completed her Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC I and Electrical Installation and Maintenance NC II at the Provincial Training Center–Davao, and her Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC II at the Endonela Institute of Technology Foundation Inc. Further, she had her Trainer’s Methodology ™ at Marians Technical Institute.  

In 2018, she applied as an SMAW NC II trainer at the Provincial Training Center - Davao, but she wasn’t accepted. But that hasn’t stopped her from achieving her goals and the drive that she had to be one of the women welders. She inquired again in 2019 but was still rejected. She got a job instead at the JFS Electrical Company. Finally, in 2020, she received a call from PTC-Davao informing her that the center needs an on-call trainer to conduct community-based training in SMAW NC II in Barangay Wines, Baguio District; she immediately grabbed the opportunity after waiting for several years.

Because of her outstanding performance, she became a job order trainer at the Provincial Training Center - Davao until this day and is known as one of the "Babaeng Trainers of Welding." Aside from handling skills training for SMAW NC I and SMAW NC II, she also holds skills training for EIM NC II. In addition, she completed the training on Region XI Multiplier Training of Trainers in Work Readiness on 21st Century Skills in August 2021.

In keeping with the celebration of Women's Month, let's not forget to recognize the accomplishments of women and raise awareness about domestic violence and other challenges that women confront daily. She even compared herself to a tainted shirt before, as for her "Pag ang damit ay sobrang dumi ay madaling itapon, ipamigay at palitan." But now she is a grinder: "Na kahit anong dumi ay malilinis at malilinis parin," and that is her untold story. 

MY HOLY LAND FARMING EXPERIENCE! A Success Story of John Paul Olandria

“TESDA PTC–Davao is the key to rev up my Israel Agro-studies”, quips John Paul Olandria, a 27-year-old hopeful from Mintal, Tugbok District, Davao City. His journey to secure a slot for the Agro-studies internship in Israel was challenging because he lacked the requirements to support his bid. However, with his persistence and his family’s encouragement, he prospered. In October 2022, he fulfilled one of his bucket lists as he set his footprints on the Holy Land.

Jepoy, as his family and friends called him, graduated from the University of Southeastern Philippines–College of Development Management (USEP-CDM) Campus in Mintal, Davao City. He graduated Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Agricultural Business Management, and passed the Licensure Examination for Agriculturists, which made him a licensed agriculturist. 

He confessed that even though he was in agriculture studies before, and had already tackled the principles of agriculture, it did not provide additional necessary skills while studying at the university. It prompted him to continue his studies.

He enrolled in Organic Agriculture Production NC II at TESDA Provincial Training Center–Davao. He remarked that “the institution provides very effective skills on trades. It further enhances your knowledge in your specialization, even if you are already in the industry.” He shared further that he took the qualification in OAP NC II, which enriched his understanding of the ideologies of the organic way of farming and trained him a lot of inputs not using synthetic as opposed to the usual conventional farming where excessive use of these artificial chemicals is present. The ideas they teach about organic farming principles conform to the country's standards, which is why every trainee who took the program from TESDA PTC–Davao institution becomes confident enough to be equipped with natural farming.

While attending his OAP NC II training, he learned about the Agro-studies internship program in Israel offered by TESDA to young and aspiring Filipino agriculturists. He pursued his interest and secured the documents needed for his internship application. After his OAP NC II training in July 2022, he took the national assessment and secured the National Certificate Level II. Then, he accomplished his community-based training on Trainers Methodology Level I at the Regional Training Center–KorPhil in Buhisan, Tibungco, Davao City. After his productive stints at TESDA, he continued applying for the Agro-studies internship grant in Israel. All his hardships paid off when his name was listed among the successful applicants. On October 21, 2022, he flew to Israel together with other young agriculturists.  

He shared, “Although the training is still ongoing, I can observe a big difference of improvement in terms of knowledge, and I am positive that it elevates my confidence–it equipped me with agriculture principles. I think there is a gap between the knowledge that is being taught in the Philippine Academes compared to the Israel Agro-studies. But in terms of hands-on skills, TESDA can cope with international practice.”

He added that the most remarkable experience he had from the Agro-studies was the field trips in demo farms, where they could see the operations and production protocol of different farms and be able to understand the topics taught through actual demonstrations. Plus, the experience of working with different people coming from different nations and cultures.

The Agro-studies run for eleven months and provide a unique internship training in agriculture, combining advanced studies and based on the ‘learning by doing' method in various agricultural fields. 

After his internship, he plans to venture into the propagation production of herbs and ornamental plants, just like from the farm he worked with. Also, he sees himself in teaching and transferring the knowledge he gained to other people, especially the youth. [Jonathan D. Samillano–SMAC Focal]