The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Academy, the agency’s premier training and learning facility, will soon re-open its doors to provide further competencies to social workers and paraprofessionals from the public and private sectors across the country.
Director Justin Caesar Anthony Batocabe of the Social Welfare Institutional Development Bureau (SWIDB) said the renovation of the facilities of the DSWD Academy is nearly finished, and classes are likely to begin by March.
“For turnover na po siya next week (It’s ready for turnover next week), and by March, we will have our classes there already, may naka-calendar na ho diyan (classes have already been calendared),” Batocabe told reporters at the Thursday Media forum at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City.
He said the training and short courses could provide opportunities for the development of the competencies of social workers and paraprofessionals to meet the ever-changing trends in social work practice.
Built in 1970 through then First Lady Imelda Marcos, the DSWD Academy, formerly known as the Social Welfare and Development Center in the Asia and the Pacific (SWADCAP), was refurbished as a learning facility envisioned to become a center of excellence for community development and social work in the Indo-Pacific Region.
The improvement of the academy and its competency as a center of learning have become one of the priority initiatives of the agency under the leadership of Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
“Under the visionary leadership of Secretary Gatchalian, binigyan ito ng pansin para puntahan ng (the facility was given attention for our) social workers, something that they can be proud of, and where learning can take place,” he said.
Aside from the significant improvements with the physical look of the Academy, Batocabe said the agency has been working double time to improve its certificate courses, training framework, and modules with the help of local and international partners.
These include the Australia Awards and Alumni Engagement Program Philippines (AAAEP-P); ASEAMETRICS HR Solutions Inc.; Asean Social Work Consortium-Philippines; and the International Training Center (ITCILO).
“We really partnered up with these organizations so we can ensure that our training and courses are at par with both local and international standards,” Batocabe said.
He said the agency is also in talks with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to affirm that the courses being offered by the DSWD Academy will be counted as part of the required continuing learning credits of the participants.
Also, the DSWD Academy seeks to open its doors to other industries that are engaged in life and family building initiatives and local disaster response. (PNA)