EARLY this year at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) main office in Taguig City, the first batch of Filipino Italian Language trainers received their B1 certification from International Language School (ILS) based in Rome.
The certification was handed in the presence of no less than Tesda Director General Irene M. Isaac, along with Chief of Staff Imelda B. Taganas, Language Skill Institute (LSI) Administrator Maria Clara B. Ignacio and Consular Attachè of the Italian Embassy Matilde de Nichilo.
This was the first breakthrough outcome of a program by Italia Lavoro, the technical arm of the Ministry of Employment and Social Policy that addresses the needs of the Filipino community in Italy.
This first batch of language trainers hurdled a grueling intensive training course under ILS Prof. Maria Grazia Adamo within the Tesda premises, a training facility that provided accommodations for the scholarship recipients chosen primarily from regions where most overseas Filipino Worker’s in Italy come from.
Tesda was very selective in identifying potential trainers who, in turn, will function as Italian language teachers assigned by Tesda in their respective regions.
This program is very much in line with the mandate of Tesda to provide language training for target groups, this being the first step in a planned continuous partnership with Italia Lavoro and the embassy to support the Filipino community in Italy.
Kudos to ILS Director Giuseppina Foti in Rome, who came last November and armed with courage, made sure that the course became a reality.
With determination she oversaw the actual organization and sent Adamo to conduct a full immersion course in order to produce results.
The participants were exposed to grammatical structures, conversation, reading and comprehension six days a week with a sprinkling of the Italian culture and way of life, courtesy of yours truly.
Yes, I had the privilege of meeting and interacting with wonderful people beginning from the participants, the very supportive staff at the LSI of Tesda, Coordinator Arlyn R. Gorriceta and Registrar Armey Grace D. Borromeo, my colleague Adamo and Foti.
Italia Lavoro also showed its determination to see this program come to its fruition. In December last year, Director Rodolfo Giorgetti, Project Manager Tiziana Ruberto and Italian Embassy Deputy Head of Mission Fabio Schina came to Tesda for an ocular inspection and a meeting with the stakeholders of this project.
They were able to check the progress of the course and tackled the next steps to take this program further.
Hoping that this tiny initial stream of instructors will grow into a mighty river of many capable and qualified Filipino trainers who will best prepare their countrymen for work and life in Italy and who, in turn, will have the opportunity to provide a better future for their families and do their country proud.