The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), working with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), has provided automotive servicing training to 15 dependents of GSIS members and pensioners in Cebu, opening pathways to employment, steady income, and small business ownership.
The group, the first batch in Cebu under the GSIS–TESDA Skills Partnership Program, graduated on November 11 during the Padayon sa Ginhawa ceremony held in Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City. Under the initiative, GSIS facilitates nominations from its members and pensioners, while TESDA delivers hands-on instruction and technical certification, extending the agency’s support beyond financial benefits to include family livelihood security.
GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso noted the program combines GSIS’s reach with TESDA’s expertise, but credited the graduates’ own dedication for their achievement. He urged them to seek work, build experience, and eventually consider launching their own automotive servicing businesses, stressing that honesty, safety, and quality service will be their greatest assets. “This is what genuine progress means — not temporary help, but the means to build a stable future,” Veloso said.
For GSIS, the program forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen the financial standing of its contributors and their families by equipping households with income-generating skills that boost long-term economic resilience. GSIS Trustee Rolando Toledo emphasized that the program’s real value will be measured by tangible outcomes — jobs secured, earnings raised, and living standards improved — rather than enrollment figures alone. “True success is not how many complete a course, but how many build better lives because of it,” Toledo said.
For participants like Alfredo Rosello Jr., nominated by his wife and GSIS member Jocelyn, the training offers both practical skills and renewed confidence. “Learning has no expiry date — it’s never too late to build something better,” he shared. The graduation was attended by GSIS Executive Vice President Jason Teng, Vice President Rosanna Sanchez, and TESDA Senior Specialist Clark Henry Ratcliffe, alongside trainers and family members.
By investing in marketable skills, GSIS said it aims to reduce household financial vulnerability, support local workforce capacity, and turn social protection into lasting economic opportunity for public servants’ families.
