CEBU CITY - More than 4,000 Cebuanos can now start their free training with the Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA) after receiving their certificates of scholarship from the Cebu provincial government. Through a PHP100-million budget, the local government launched the "Sugbo Kahanas" program which will help Cebuanos and the economy recover from the damaging effects of the pandemic and Typhoon Odette. Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Monday led the ceremonial distribution of scholarship grants to 55 Cebuano beneficiaries who represent the 4,329 qualified TESDA scholars of the Capitol's Sugbo Kahanas program. "This program . . . is not just a classroom environment. This is about our scholars actually learning the skill that would give them a better opportunity in life, that would open doors to employment that would mean higher wages," Garcia said during the event. Under the program, the provincial capitol partnered with the TESDA to provide skills training to qualified Cebuanos who would take up organic agriculture production, cookery, bread and pastry, housekeeping, bartending, electrical installation and maintenance, carpentry, tile setting, plumbing, and computer system servicing, among many others. The qualified beneficiaries will receive a PHP160 daily allowance, PHP500 subsidy for face masks and other essentials, and PHP500 for internet expenses for online classes. The local government will also enroll them in an accident insurance policy with the Government Service Insurance System and entrepreneurship training to help them start their own businesses later on. Aside from NC-II certificates, beneficiaries who complete the training will also receive starter kits at the end of the program, like welding machines for those enrolled in the welding program, and ovens for those in the bread and pastry production. Clarissa Geraldo, head of the TESDA's Provincial Operations Unit, said the duration of the training courses varies from one to two months. Based on the TESDA's impact evaluation, more than 70 percent of its graduates get immediately employed after completing the program. "A PHP100-million investment in human capital is one of a kind in the national arena in terms of skills training and program," Geraldo said, adding that believing in human capital development is key in alleviating poverty and spurring economic growth. (PNA) }