About 75 TESDA graduates of Consumer Electronics Services (CES) NCII and Food and Beverage Services (FBS) NCII received their livelihood starter tool kits from DOLE last Oct 21, 2014 at Padre Garcia Municipal Hall.

This Pangkabuhayan Project aims to assist TESDA skilled graduates start their own businesses.  About 25 FBS NCII graduates grouped themselves into Amigos De Rubiks Caterers who will venture into food and catering services.  Mentored by the administrator of Rubiks Manpower Training Center, Mr. Roy Mallillin, this group composed the first ever K-12 graduates from the Coffee Academy in Brgy Pinagtulungan, Lipa City.  This early, there are catering projects already lined up in Lipa and Tanauan Cities.  

Meanwhile, Padre Garcia Municipal Mayor Abraham Gutierrez allocated starting funds for Padre Garcia Solar-powered Lamp Post fabricators.  They were given tool kits from DOLE to be used in fabricating solar lightings.  DOLE Batangas Director Emma Tan lauded the project for its great potential for economic success while at the same time employing environmental-friendly  technologies.

In the meantime, the TESDA Batangas RTC graduates of CES NCII will fabricate solar lamp posts for the coastal communities in Batangas City.  

According to TESDA Batangas Director Carlos C. Flores, this project concretizes the private-public partnership espoused by President Aquino.  TESDA provides skills training and mentoring, DOLE provides funds for livelihood showcases while the LGUs and private TVIs nurture the graduates and provide additional start-up capital and job referrals.

He added that there will be more of this type of joint ventures in other municipalities in Batangas covering welding graduates as steel fabricators, construction workers and automotive servicing graduates as technicians sa barangay.