Dipolog City (28 November) -- Responding to the growing demands for call center agents, the provincial office of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is currently conducting a free scholarship qualifying test for anyone interested to become call center agents (CCA) under the PGMA Training for work Scholarship Program (TWSP).

The program is open to all male or female aged 18 to 55 years old, and at least high school graduate. Those employed but wanting a career change, underemployed or unemployed can also avail themselves of the program.

Interested applicants will undergo a free English proficiency assessment, which is a seven-minute verbal test using an ordinary telephone administered by a TESDA staff. Responses are recorded and scored by a computer and the results are available in five minutes.

The scoring is fully automated and those who score 70 or above are considered "hireables" and will be endorsed for employment to call center companies.

Applicants with scores of 55-70 are considered "near-hires" and they will be given scholarship certificate for the 100-hour finishing course for CCAs. They will undergo training in TESDA-registered institutions for free.