PSEFI-SKILLS and AFOS' Pilot Class Graduate from Senior High School

Cebu City --- April 7, 2017, Friday, was a prodigious day for us in PSEFI-SKILLS as we witnessed nineteen (19) of our Pilot Class Senior High School (Grade 12) students graduate from four (4) construction trades: Carpentry NC II, Masonry NC II, Tile Setting NC II and Plumbing NC II.

PSEFI-SKILLS is the first tech-voc institution in the country to pilot the Senior High School (SHS) Program for the Tech-Voc Track under the construction sector. This special project is in partnership the Department of Education's (DepEd) Cebu City Division Office, the AFOS Foundation for Entrepreneurial Development Cooperation as funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zapatera National High School and the Cebu Contractor's Association.

AFOS sponsored an initial number of 24 students to advance in Grades 11 and 12. The students took

up Carpentry and Masonry for Grade 11 and Tile Setting and Plumbing for Grade 12. SKILLS conducted lectures for about four months which comprised one lecture a week per month. The students took all their academic subjects at Zapatera National High School.  Our SHS students were eventually deployed to various project sites on the 5th month of the semester where they completed 200 hours of on-the-job training. Upon completing their site immersion, they were assisted for NC II certification conducted by TESDA.

Carpentry training started last June 11, 2015 and ended on October 30, 2015. There were 24 students who completed this trade and all were able to practice actual carpentry jobs in PSEFI-SKILLS' partner construction firms, PLD Construction and J.C. Abraham C. Lee Construction and Development, both active members of the Cebu Contractor's Association (CCA). All students were able to complete the first semester and acquired the Carpentry NC II certificate from TESDA.

On November 20, 2015 till February 5, 2016, our Grade 11 students started their second semester where they started lectures for Masonry NC II. Their site immersion was from June 1-30, 2016 at the afore-mentioned construction firms, where they completed another 200 hours. Another successful batch of students, all 23 of them, passed the assessment for Masonry NC II conducted by TESDA.

From February 19, 2016 to March 18, 2016, the first semester for Grade 12, only 22 students

continued who took the module of Tile Setting NC II. They were immersed in the same partner-companies from July 1-30, 2016. After completing all documents both in tech-voc and academics, they were scheduled again for Tile Setting NC II assessment. A few were not able to pass the NC II assessment and were scheduled to retake it. Second semester started last August 19-November 18, 2016 and site immersion was on November 21, 2016 to January 10, 2017. Only 19 enrolled and took the Plumbing modules. A few were not able to be certified Plumbing NC II by TESDA.

Last April, only 19 students were able to finish Grades 11 and 12 who took all 4 modules on Carpentry, Masonry, Tile Setting and Plumbing. The graduation was held at Zapatera National High School. PSEFI-SKILLS was represented by Dr. Eunice B, Raz, Academic Director and Mr. Javic Cabalda, Field Technical Assistant and Senior High School Trainer for the Industrial Arts program.

This May 2017, AFOS continues to sponsor 10 students who have graduated for additional 2 modules like Advanced Plumbing and Construction Painting which will start in June 2017.

Congratulations to all our Senior High School Pilot Class courtesy of AFOS Foundation!