Section 4Sec./Art. 4

General Mandate. - With the recent major developments challenging the Philippine higher and technical-vocational education priorities and mandates, namely: (a) the adoption of the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF); (b) the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic integration; and (c) the rapidly changing technical skills priorities, competency demands and key employment generators under the Philippine Standards Occupational Classification and the international labor requirements and standards, it becomes imperative to strengthen the countrys technical-vocational education to immediately effect a major shift towards the development of world-class Filipino workforce equipped with practical technical skills of global competence and caliber responsive to the needs of both the domestic and global job market, and aligned with the ASEAN integration framework and such other mutual international exchange agreements for technical-vocational skills.

The Institute shall endeavor to bring about greater industry-academe collaboration and critical partnerships with local and international institutions to forge mutual skills benchmarking standards, program exchange and internship trainings to equip graduates with competencies and preferred job access.

The Institute shall offer practical short-term specialty courses, as well as higher level competency in technical-industrial education and trade technology. It shall continue to upgrade its curricular standards as a tertiary TEEDA-polytechnic institution that provides quality technical-vocational education and skills training at the technical diploma and national certificate levels that would develop technically competent, innovative and skilled workforce for the Cordillera Region, as well as for any preferred local and international employment.

The Institute shall offer a wide-array of one (l)-year to three (3)-year TESDA-registered technical-vocational skills training programs and certificate courses, and shall aim to meet, as a long-term goal, the maximum competency requirements under Level V of the PQF, which is the Diploma Level in technical-vocational education. It shall primarily provide tertiary undergraduate technical-vocational education, and shall likewise ensure to provide the various skills trainings and trade specialization relevant to the needs of the CAR, as well as specifically geared towards the acquisition of employable skills, gainful employment, practical livelihood and entrepreneurship.

The Institute shall play a pivotal role in primarily helping the students and out-of-school youths and residents from low-income families, including persons with disabilities, in Baguio City and the adjacent provinces of Abra, Ifugao, Benguet, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Apayao, and the rest of the CAR to become productive, self-reliant and to be developed into globally competitive middle to high-level skilled labor force to hasten the social and economic development of the entire CAR, in particular, as well as meet the manpower placement needs of both local and international labor market, in general.

The Institute shall consider in the design of relevant technical-vocational training programs and courses to be offered thereat the results of a competency assessment of the socioeconomic profile, employment conditions and opportunities, business climate, market and industry potentials, resources available and presence of support structures, including the literacy level and skills readiness, and the overall development needs of the host area, Baguio City, and the adjacent localities within the operational radius of the Institute.

It shall likewise consider the relevant skills and trade competencies, craftsmanship training programs and entrepreneurship activities needed to deliver the effective employment and development interventions required to make Baguio City and the rest of the integrated localities comprising CAR human resource capital and economic productivity hubs.

The Institute shall also serve as a TESDA-accredited Assessment Center for acquired competencies in technical-vocational skills in the entire CAR.

Admission to the Institute, including scholarships and grants-in-aid, shall be given to the most disadvantaged citizens of the most economically depressed areas in the region.

Further, as deemed necessary and practicable, in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd) and TESDA, the Institute shall render relevant teachers training assistance and curriculum design to the secondary schools offering technical-vocational livelihood (TVL) track under the K to 12 Program of the DepEd in the communities and areas in CAR within the operational radius of the Institute.