How to Upskill With TESDA: Free Courses, Scholarships and Certification
TESDA runs free online courses and scholarship-funded training. Separately, it certifies skills through assessment. You can use one path or combine them.
The agency says 2026 carries the biggest budget in its history. It plans to train 600,000 to 650,000 learners and is rolling out a P19-billion scholarship program. Digital upskilling is one of the areas it says it will scale up.
Start with a phone and an hour
The TESDA Online Program (TOP) is the easiest way in. Enrollment is free for Filipinos, and finishing a course earns a certificate of completion.
To enroll, create an account on the TESDA Online Program site (e-tesda.gov.ph), log in, open the course you want and pick a module. In the left navigation pane, select “Enroll me in this course.” TOP also runs on a mobile app for Android and iPhone.
The catalog includes content creation for social media, graphic design, digital marketing and beauty care.
The AI and cloud shelf keeps growing
On May 26, TESDA announced AI courses on TOP, built with UNESCO-UNEVOC and the HP Foundation. They cover AI concepts, responsible AI use and practical applications in business and everyday work.
On September 29, TESDA signed an agreement with Amazon Web Services to add free cloud computing and AI courses. The first ones are Fundamentals of AI, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and AWS Certified AI Practitioner. They carry no prerequisites or course fees. Fundamentals of AI assumes no technical background. TESDA says courses on cloud architecture, security and databases are planned.
Finishing the free courses does not award an AWS certification. Learners on the certification track may enroll in AWS Academy pathways at the TESDA Women’s Center, subject to availability, and may qualify for exam vouchers. Eligibility and limits depend on TESDA and AWS policies.
Want a classroom? Look at the scholarship
The Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) covers training and assessment. Scholars also receive a daily training support fund of P160.
This year TWSP added AI-track courses: Data Collection and Annotation (Level II), AI Prompting for Automation (Level III) and Data Analytics (Level III). TESDA expected more than 3,000 learners between April and December. AMA Education System, STI College and other partner schools deliver the training. The rollout list included Bacolod, Cebu, Manila, Laguna, Pampanga and General Santos City, among other areas.
The Special Training for Employment Program (STEP) covers short community-based courses. Program guides report that it includes a starter toolkit on completion.
Check who gets in
For the AI courses, applicants must be at least 18 by the time training ends. They need 10 years of basic education or an ALS Grade 10 certification, basic spoken and written English, and fundamental computer skills. They must also be physically and mentally fit. Returning OFWs, displaced workers, unemployed people and out-of-school youth get priority.
Each scholarship follows its own TESDA circular, so requirements differ. Scholarship applicants also cannot be a current beneficiary of another government scholarship or subsidy. Slots and course lists vary by area, so confirm with your provincial or regional TESDA office before you plan around a start date.
A completion certificate is not a national certificate
TOP gives a certificate of completion. National certification comes from a separate assessment, and TOP learners can take it face to face at a TESDA-accredited assessment center. The assessment checks whether a graduate or worker can perform to workplace standards. TESDA-accredited assessors run it.
A National Certificate (NC) is issued when you show competence in every unit of a qualification. A Certificate of Competency (COC) covers a single unit or a cluster of units. National Certificates run from Level I to Level IV, and TESDA describes them as formal proof of competence that can be used to access employment. Assessment fees follow a schedule set by the TESDA Board, and TWSP scholars get free assessment.
TESDA also lists a Digital Skills Passport among its 2026 priorities. The platform is meant to record learner competencies and help employers verify credentials faster.
A first week that fits around a job
Create a TOP account and enroll in one course tied to the work you do now. Then ask the nearest accredited assessment center which qualifications it assesses and what each costs. Finally, ask your provincial or regional office whether scholarship slots are open in your area. The TESDA hotline is 8887-7777.
