TESDA offers clearer career paths in semiconductor, electronics sector

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has launched the Philippine Skills Framework (PSF) for the semiconductor and electronics industry to provide clearer career pathways for young Filipinos.

The PSF was formally introduced on August 19 at the TESDA Central Office in partnership with the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) and the Industry TVET Board for Semiconductor and Electronics.

With the theme “Empowering the Semiconductor and Electronics Workforce for a Future-Ready Philippines,” the PSF serves as a strategic tool outlining career progression pathways, defining skills and competencies per job role, guiding training and hiring, and bridging education with employment.

TESDA Director General Jose Francisco “Kiko” B. Benitez said the framework must evolve alongside technological advances.

“It [PSF] is a living framework…because it needs to be something that is constantly updated and constantly reviewed, as industry and technology itself changes,” Benitez explained.

He added that the framework will make the education sector more flexible, agile, and industry-driven.

“Through the skills framework, we now have a way forward in making sure that we know where we’re going, that the workforce component of any industrial roadmap…has a clear link to the ways in which curriculum is designed, to ways in which micro-credentials are designed and deployed, and that we have clear pathways for individual learners to know where they’re going and what kind of career is possible for them,” he said.

Benitez also emphasized that the PSF model could be replicated across other industries to help agencies like the Department of Education (DepEd), TESDA, and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) prepare Filipinos for lifelong learning and future industrial shifts.

According to TESDA, the PSF will strengthen skills alignment, enhance industry competitiveness, empower workforce development, and ensure stronger industry-academe collaboration.

SEIPI President Dan Lachica welcomed the initiative, calling it a milestone in government-industry partnership.

“The PSF is proof that we can achieve with government, industry, and academe when we come together. It’s not just a policy, it’s a partnership, and as we move forward, sustaining this collaboration will be a key shared responsibility for shared success,” Lachica said.

Benitez added that the partnership with SEIPI shows what can be achieved when the private sector takes the lead and government agencies work in step with industry needs.