SEARCA’s Short-Term Training Program (STTP) forms a vital part of SEARCA’s institutional and human resource development mandates. It aims to equip agricultural professionals in the region with both basic and advanced technical and managerial knowledge and skills. It also strives to influence these professionals to be imbued with pragmatic regional and global perspectives, a deep sense of social responsibility, and a strong decision-making culture favorable for agricultural and rural development in the region.
Many agricultural personnel in Southeast Asia (SEA) are not able to pursue long-term graduate studies. With this in mind, SEARCA’s STTP offers short-term courses that will develop their competencies. Since 1970, SEARCA has offered full scholarship for regular courses related to agricultural and rural development at the regional level. The scholarship covered tuition, international and local travel, training materials, health and accident insurance premiums, and full board and lodging of the participants.
In recent years, however, scholarship grants for short-term trainings have declined. despite the growing need for capacity building brought about by the demands of a globalized economy and the emergence of a complex mix of social, economic, political and environmental concerns. To ensure viability of its STTP and continue to address the training needs of SEA nationals, SEARCA, consequently, went into offering fee-based courses. This scheme, nevertheless, requires a certain number of trainees per course offering for cost-effectiveness.
Because there are still agricultural personnel in the region who want to avail themselves of training but lack the means to do so, SEARCA’s STTP is tapping the support of its training alumni as possible sources of training scholarships.
The program has the following objectives:
- Enhance staff development of relevant agricultural and rural development organizations in the region through the sponsorship of SEARCA training alumni.
- Increase the number of competent human resources in the region to address poverty and food security concerns.
- Sustain a more proactive and win-win counterparting scheme between SEARCA and interested organizations in developing human resources in the region.
- SEARCA invites organizations, where SEARCA training alumni are affiliated, to solicit their participation in the program at least 1.5 months before the start of any training course.
- Invited organizations fill up the expression of interest form and sends it to SEARCA on or before the set deadline to confirm their participation or non-participation in the program.
- SEARCA sends draft memorandum of agreement to interested collaborating organizations for comments and finalizes the same upon receipt of comments for approval and signing.
- Once MOA is signed, SEARCA requests collaborating organizations to officially endorse their staff member/s who will attend SEARCA course, specifying among others the course to be attended and names of sponsors. A duly accomplished application form of the nominees should be attached to the endorsement letter.
- SEARCA sends official letter of acceptance of participants through the collaborating organizations, together with details on course logistical and technical requirements at least two weeks before start of course.SEARCA sends official letter of acceptance of participants through the collaborating organizations, together with details on course logistical and technical requirements at least two weeks before start of course.
- Collaborating organizations are expected to remit course payment and inform SEARCA on the flight arrival details of the participants for airport pick-up at least 1 week before start of the course.
The program provides the following benefits:
- For the collaborating organizations, the program would strengthen institutional capacity and enhance professional growth of their staff.
- For the SEARCA training alumni, the program could provide added value for them to concretely manifest their commitment and concern for their organization’s development and improvement of service delivery to their clients, and return the favor by sponsoring of their colleagues as new SEARCA trainees.
- For both the collaborating organization and SEARCA training alumni, the program will reduce training cost as a result of pooling their contributions together.
- For SEARCA, the program will enable the Center to fulfill its mandate of developing human resources and institutions in the Southeast Asian region toward poverty reduction and food security.
- For both SEARCA and the collaborating organizations, the program could facilitate the establishment of a pool of experts on the different subject matters covered by SEARCA training courses, which could be tapped at any time for development work in the region.
For inquiries, please contact the Training Department.
