“A quality journey that does not end in certification but a journey towards customer satisfaction and continual improvement” said our Executive Director Ben Laraya in a pep talk before the CITE working committee for Asia Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission (APACC) during the two-day workshop on December 14-15.

Mr. Laraya redirected the group to the blueprint of the school which detailed its long-term goals. Working towards quality has always been in the veins of CITE long before the quest for certification from ISO began and getting certified from an international certification body like APACC was a dream long overdue.

The seminar-workshop under the watch of ISO Consultant Engr. Luther Bersales introduced seven self-study or team leaders and ISO focal persons to the nitty-gritty of APACC and its benefits to the school and the stakeholders.

Said Mr. Bersales, “I am helping you with APACC because I believe that this is a dream of your management staff and with your capabilities, I am positive that we can get gold.”

Having said that, Mr. Bersales mapped the master plan from the self-assessment of the team leaders on CITE based on the following criteria: governance and management, teaching and learning, faculty, reasearch and develpment, extension, consultancy, and linkages, resources, and support to students.

To go for gold or level III accreditation, CITE had to rake in 901-100 total number of points. This means that the institution seeking accreditation met the standards substantially way above the threshold with minor deficiencies which can be improved within a 6-month to 1-year period.

APACC accreditation is an internationally recognized sign of quality. It guides tech-voc education and training (TVET) institutions in equipping with internationally recognized standards and systems. In so doing, these institution will be able to produce workforce with great mobility to move across borders with regionally competitive qualification skills.