GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Alcantara-led Conal Holdings Corp. has supported the establishment of Sarangani's first technical-vocation school where it is eyeing to source manpower for its planned 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant.
The Center for Technical Excellence (CTE), a joint project of the local government, Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda), Department of Education, and Conal Holdings rose in Maasim town, site of the $450 million coal plant.
Sarangani officials led by Gov. Miguel Rene A. Dominguez and the partners opened the technical vocational school early this week.
"I always believe that education is the best anti-poverty tool, and I would like to commend the local officials for really creating an environment where business people can prosper and help develop our local skilled manpower," Dominguez said.
Rommel Tomas M. Falgui, Conal Holdings project assurance manager, urged the out-of-school youth in the area to grab the opportunity of acquiring formal technical skills, which is for free, to give them a competitive edge once the company starts hiring employees.
"The CTE is intended for our out-of-school youth where they can learn and be employed by the company for their source of livelihood," Falgui, former mayor of Kiamba town, said in a statement.
The CTE can accommodate 60 students per batch. Last Saturday, 133 OSY took the screening test.
Conal Holdings is the proponent of the 200-megawatt coal-fueled power plant that would rise near a world-class diving spot in Barangay Kamanga to address the power shortage in Mindanao. Construction of the power plant has yet to begin.
The local Catholic Church and environmental groups have expressed strong opposition to the project on concerns for human health and the environment.
People have always the right to give their opinion about the project, but we are confident that with the use of modern technology, we cannot sacrifice our environment for progress, said Falgui, noting that Conal Holdings "is a law-abiding company."
Conal Holdings Corporation has been developing a nursery as part of its carbon-sink project, a 7,500 reforestation project in the mountains of Maasim.
To ensure the safety of our environment, we organized a multipartite monitoring team composed of independent entities and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources itself to double check that everything is working in accordance with environmental laws, Falgui added.
Joseph N. Nocos, Conal Holdings vice president for business and development, said the company's support to technical education is part of their corporate social responsibility.
"We build classrooms in your community because we understand how important education is for you and the future of your children," he said.
DepEd will administer the center while Tesda will design the curriculum and instructional materials, and Conal Holdings to provide school supplies for the students.
The CTE offers hands-on training in carpentry, welding, masonry, construction painting and plumbing with NC-2 certification from Tesda.
Falgui said the center will also offer short courses for women soon.
Also supporting the CTE, which was built on a land donated by the Mangelen family, are Alcantara Foundation, Mahintana Foundation, Golden State College and RD Foundation.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on October 01, 2010.
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