The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday commended 400 learners from the Alternative Learning System (ALS) who completed the Micro-Certification for Life Skills Program, an initiative aimed at enhancing employability and life readiness.

The program, developed by DepEd in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), equips ALS learners with essential life skills such as communication, leadership, teamwork and problem-solving.

In a statement, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said the program serves as an inspiration in attaining life goals through “micro-wins.”

“Sa ating mga (To our) micro-certification completers, kayo po ang pruweba na hindi kailangang mabilis ang pagkuha ng life goals (you are the proof that life goals are not needed to be attained swiftly). It can come in steps, in modules, in micro-wins that eventually build a life of purpose and pride,” he said.

“Because in ALS, we don’t just measure success by how high you’ve climbed, but by how far you’ve come.”

Under said life skills program, formal credentials were granted to completers for each of the essential skills using a “360-degree” assessment.

This adopted measure includes self-ratings, teachers and community raters to measure learners’ life skills.

The pilot implementation covered eight school division offices — Manila, Aurora, Batangas, Iriga, Lapu-Lapu, Misamis Oriental, Davao City and South Cotabato — issuing a total of 2,854 micro-certificates to ALS learners.

To date, the DepEd, UNICEF, the Assessment, Curriculum and Technology Research Centre and the University of Melbourne have validated the reliability of assessing life skills through micro-certification, based on their studies from 2022 to 2025. (PNA)