Prior to her training at TESDA Women’s Center (TWC), Mrs. Ladan worked as inspector at Vicar Micro-Finance Corporation. She was an ordinary employee who wanted better opportunities for her career and personal growth. She was then earning P5,000 a month and shared in the household’s monthly expenses, which averaged P4,000.

Considering TWC
Mrs. Ladan learned about TWC through her husband, who had come across a TESDA advertisement in the newspaper and encouraged her to enroll. At that time, Vicar Micro-Finance was in the process of establishing a cooperative that would offer certain services, which included janitorial work and housekeeping. She learned that most prospective clients would be checking out the company profile. This included the company’s organizational and technical capability or expertise.

Having considered all these, Mrs. Ladan enrolled at TWC and took up a six-month course on housekeeping. She remembered that, at 45, she was then the oldest student in class. In fact, some TESDA facilitators were even offering her other courses they deemed more suitable for her age. But Mrs. Ladan continued with her plans. And the next six months were a fulfilling experience for her.

Finding Success after the TWC Training Mrs. Ladan was assured of regaining her old post, which she had left in favor of training at TESDA. In truth, though, she preferred a new job at the newly established Molave Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Vicar-Micro Finance’s sister company. After finishing the TWC course, she got her wish when she was immediately transferred to Molave Multi-Purpose Cooperative as operations manager, with a salary of P6,000 a month.

Looking back, she believes that in time, she would have been eventually promoted as operations manager. But the training she acquired from TWC armed her with the skills and knowledge that were necessary to ensure quality in the work place.

She admits that the training she underwent has proved to be very useful and relevant to her new job as operations manager. Aside from the technical skills she acquired, she now has the confidence to manage the cooperative. Prior to the training, she had zero knowledge on the technical side of housekeeping. Now she has been imparting these skills by training other people, as well. Aside from this she has helped many of her classmates find employment in the cooperative, although some have already sought work abroad. That for Mrs. Ladan is success—helping yourself become successful and in the process be part in helping others become successful themselves.

Though she receives a modest salary, she is able to help meet the family’s day-to-day expenses when in fact, she does not even have to work. Only one of her three children is still studying. Her eldest son works in the Philippine navy and is assigned in Malacañang while her daughter works in congress. But for Mrs. Ladan, what is more fulfilling is getting the position she wanted as operations manager and not the salary raise that goes with it.

Success Factors
Mrs. Ladan already has the job she wanted. She attributes her success to many factors.

• The support of her family—husband, son, and two daughters—significantly contributed to this success. They helped her with the household chores so that she would not be unduly burdened after getting home from the training and now from a hard day at the office.
• Vicar Micro-Finance Corporation provided financial support. The company shouldered the expenses she incurred during training. It also granted her leave with pay for the entire six months.
• The training she received from TWC and her exposure to the basics of housekeeping during her on-the-job training (OJT) at Mandarin Hotel armed her with technical know-how that she used to effectively manage the newly established human resources company and provide quality service to their clients.
• Lastly, Mrs. Ladan credits her success to self-motivation and determination. This was exemplified during her OJT. She recalls that because of her age—she was, in fact, the oldest in the group of OJT trainees—her supervisor at the hotel doubted her energy and mobility. Worse, she had hypertension. But she was determined to get the necessary training. She had resolved to graduate with a TESDA certificate. So she made an arrangement with her supervisor: If her blood pressure was above normal when she reported in the morning, she would not push through with her training schedule. Mrs. Ladan indeed worked hard to complete her two month OJT. In the process, she acquired skills in the hotel’s chemicals, storage, and linen room departments.

Despite her age, Mrs. Ladan finds fulfillment in learning new things each day. As she succinctly puts it, “Learning is not a waste of time, money, and effort. It is an investment. Take time to learn.”

Most importantly, never run out of determination. As long as one has the drive to go after her goals in life, age will never be a deterrent.