Family and Educational Background
Josephine S. Ligan is one of the productive technicians the TESDA Women’s Center (TWC) has produced since it was established in 1998. Jo, as Josephine is fondly called by family and friends, is employed in the occupation she was trained for.

Poverty forced Jo to put aside her college education. In 1999, she finished high school in Cabadbaran National High School in Agusan del Norte. She wanted to pursue computer science in college but her parents could no longer send her to school. Her father, Cleto, is a farmer. Even if he tills his own land, which Jo describes as a “maliit na palayan,” he does not have a fixed monthly income. On a good month, he would earn Php 4000 but this could barely support his family. Jo’s mother, Bella, stays at home and takes care of the family.

Jo has two younger sisters. When Jo graduated from high school, Kay was only 11 years old and Rachelle, three. Being the eldest child, Jo decided to find work so she could help augment the family income, and maybe put aside a part of her earnings for her college education.

Together with a cousin, Jo embarked for Metro Manila. There was a job waiting for Jo. The employer of her cousin has a sister who needed a househelp. She would earn Php 1500 monthly for her job, which would included taking care of her employer’s baby.

Until then, Jo had never been away from her family – and for a long period of time. When her employer was at work in her office, Jo only had the baby for company. She was feeling very lonely. She was missing her own family. So after two weeks, she decided to leave her job. Her employers gave her a half-month’s salary, “but I have to pay back the money that they used for my transportation fare to Manila.”

Jo stayed in Taguig City with an older cousin, Normita Calzar. Ate Mitch, as Jo calls her, finished an engineering course at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and works as a production operator at Amkor-Anam, a multinational electronics firm with a base in the Philippines. Single and earning quite gainfully, Mitch offered to send her cousin to college. So Jo took the entrance examination at PUP. Sadly, she didn’t pass it.

Seeing Jo feeling discouraged to pursue her dream, Mitch told her about Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). She knew some people at work who had trained at TESDA and later got decent jobs. “Do not give up,” she told Jo. “Why don’t we see if there’s something for you at TESDA?” And she accompanied Jo to the manpower training center in Taguig City to inquire about the courses offered by TWC. That was in November 1999. Jo took and passed the qualifying exam in February the following year. Later, she was informed that she made it to the Batch 4 of trainees.

She took up consumer electronics. She wanted to be like her cousin Mitch. Apart from her engineering degree, Mitch took a course in electronics and is also a proficient electronic technician.

Jo also was told by relatives and friends that she could easily find work as an electronics technician. Manufacturing industries employ more than fifty percent of electronic technicians. Jo started the training course in March 2000. The course would run for six months. The first four months were about basic consumer electronics. There were lectures on identification of parts and functions of equipment, repair of consumer electronics equipment such as television and radio repair, power supply conversion, and other related subject matters. Apart from the technology-based education, there would also be lectures and discussions on social skills, leadership training, entrepreneurship, and gender development. After the theoretical part of the course, the students would then undergo a two-month practical training.

Instead of moving on to her on-the-job training (OJT), Jo decided to apply for work at the Cavite Export Processing Zone (CEPZ). There are many registered consumer electronics company in CEPZ and Jo knew that she could find work in one of these companies. She went to Astec International as a walk-in applicant. Astec International is a multinational electronic company that manufactures power conversion products. Jo earned Php 150 daily as an assembler at Astec International.

When Jo’s work contract expired five months later, Mitch suggested that it would be helpful to Jo to learn about computer technology. “For your career advancement,” she told Jo. “And when you’ve finished computer technology, it would be like you have finished computer science in college.” So Jo enrolled at the Philippine Science and technology Center (PSTC), a vocational institution with TESDA authorized programs. It was Mitch who paid for her tuition at PSTC.

Equipped with knowledge and skills in electronics and computer technology, Jo found work at Lux Manufacturing, Inc. Formerly the Electrolux Philippines, Inc., Lux manufactures water purifiers, vacuum cleaners, and floor polishers. Jo was hired as an electronics technician for water purifiers.

Earnings vary by industry, geographic location, skill, educational level, and complexity of the machinery operated. In Jo’s case, it was the geographic location that dictated her salary. Prior to its relocation, Lux Manufacturing had its manufacturing site in the National Capital Region. Jo said she then was receiving the minimum daily wage, which should Php 280. When the company moved to Calamba, Laguna, Jo’s salary was slashed down a bit. Jo understood that her salary was adjusted because the minimum wage in the country is determined by the DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) regional boards. Jo stayed with Lux Manufacturing for 11 months.

Jo has kept in touch with TWC for latest development in electronics and computer technology. It was from TESDA where she learned of an opening in Makro-B Electronics, a company that assembles electronic parts of the water purifier.

There were many applicants and competition was stiff. There was also a height requirement for the job. But even if she failed to meet this particular requirement, Jo felt she could do the job. She is technologically proficient – thanks to her TWC training and previous work experience. On August 6, 2003, Jo started working as an assembler in Makro-B Electronics. She did not start as a contract worker as most newly hired would be. She was immediately taken in as a permanent employee.

Jo had come a long way from her first job as a househelp. She has become an electronic technician employed at a leading electronics company. She is economically empowered. She has a stable job. She earns more than Php 5000 monthly. She has become self-reliant. Every now and then, she would send her parents money in Cabadbaran. “I want to help them with sending my sisters to school,” she said.

Still, Jo feels she can improve herself. She wants to learn more from her present work, and then move on to a more challenging and better paying job. She needs to be kept abreast with technological developments. She also has to gain more work experience. She knows that when assemblers become experience, they may progress to jobs that require greater skill and be given more responsibility. Assemblers can also be promoted to supervisors. Some experienced assemblers may also become members of research and development teams, working with engineers and other project designers to design, develop, and build prototypes, and test new product models.

Jo also plans to work abroad. “Overseas workers are gainfully employed. She would like to work in Japan or Taiwan. “I heard that there are many electronic companies in these countries,” she said. “I’m sure I could do a good job there.”