Philippinen: Lernen durch Handeln

Learning by doing

Dualtech Training Center Foundation 'holds' classes in workplaces

While many schools struggle to meet the challenge of matching student training with actual skills requirements in the labor force, a little known educational institution in Calamba, Laguna, has lessened the guessing and uncertainty.

Dualtech Training Center Foundation, Inc. (DTCFI) in Carmelray Industrial Park 1, established in 1982, has adopted a system used in Germany and other European countries that allows students to learn both in school and in their prospective employers' workplaces.

The dualtech system goes beyond the typical internship or on-the-job training that requires students to spend a set number of hours in a company that may not even let them do the kind of work they are preparing for. For Dualtech students, immersion in the job and hands-on training are not theoretical concepts.

Jerry Muhi, executive director, explains, "Dual training system is an educational method where students have two learning venues—school and companies, a combination of theoretical and practical training."

He adds, "Since Dualtech has two learning venues, this enables the students to experience the actual work condition in companies and apply the fundamentals of electromechanics, a bundle of three trades, [while still in] school. This makes Dualtech distinct among technical-vocational institutions under the umbrella of Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority)."

Dualtech offers the two-year Electromechanics Technology course, a combination of electrical, mechanical and electronics trades designed to serve as the foundation for more advance technical subjects and applications. Enrollment is year-round but only males can apply.

Its training program consists of 30 percent theoretical and 70 percent practical. Muhi says "this unique education and intensive hands-on component with different industries allow students, before they leave school, to experience the interplay of electrical, mechanical and electronics trades."

But the school also "pays special attention to the values formation of our students, making them responsible, industrious and professional workers," Muhi stresses.