Aspiring entrepreneurs with a passion for baking have been given a headstart with the support of Pilmico and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Women’s Center’s (TESDA-Women’s Center) with the Bakery and Pastry Production Training at the Wooden Spoon Business Innovation Center at the TESDA Compound. Since its inauguration late last year in December, the facility has seen its first 50 graduates march and get certified by TESDA last July 5, 2019.

“It’s just the beginning of a new chapter in your lives, an exciting new chapter that provides new opportunities for growth. Opportunities to utilize the skills and competencies you all learned here at TESDA that bring positive change in your lives, your families and the country… [This] plus the right mindset and partners like Pilmico are your ingredients in helping you take the proper action to get things moving”, Joeben Gamatero, VP Brand & Marketing of Pilmico, incites in his speech at the ceremony. 

Joined by participants in other TESDA certification workshops, *number* students celebrated the completion of their training with big smiles and great hopes for what the future holds. 

“Yung pagpasok ko talaga dito, ang gusto ko talaga ay matuto lang. Beginner pa lang din ako, pero after nitong program, narealize ko na baka pwede nga in the future maging business ko siya”, Ellen, one of the recent graduates of the Wooden Spoon Business Innovation Center, tells.

Equipped with new knowledge on baking and entrepreneurship, the newly certified TESDA trainees are encouraged to engage in further learning. Pilmico’s government partners, TESDA and DTI Go Negosyo, are putting up ladderized courses on entrepreneurship to develop the enrollees’ business mindset. These courses are included in their 7M’s framework that aims to give focus on the following: mindset, mastery, mentorship, money, machine, market, and models. These will hopefully spark inspiration and develop future MSMEs in the bread and pastry industry.

Committed to being a Partner for Growth, Pilmico, together with TESDA Women’s Center, continuously looks for avenues to provide trainees of the program with opportunities, industry advice, and business knowledge to secure their futures as baker entrepreneurs. 

A joint project by Aboitiz food subsidiary Pilmico and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Women’s Center, the Wooden Spoon Business Innovation facility provides opportunities for women and aspiring business owners to get started on their very own bakery business. Interested participants are screened by accredited TESDA trainers in order to determine their eligibility.

In April, the first batch of the Bread and Pastry production NCII enrollees completed their certification program. Self-taught baker and online entrepreneur, Pherlie, decided to enroll in the Wooden Spoon NCII training program to gain more understanding in the technical aspect of baking and overall, improve her way of doing business.

“Kahit may alam ka na about baking, iba pa rin talaga kapag stinep-by-step. Ang laking tulong nito dahil dati sa YouTube lang ako nag-aaral [dati] kaya thank you talaga sa program na ito”, she shares.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes the Wooden Spoon a more effective training model than conventional classroom baking courses?
The Wooden Spoon’s design mimics an actual business production environment rather than a school laboratory. The facility is equipped with commercial-grade equipment, and the inclusion of Cafe Juana — a functioning cafe within the compound run by trainees — allows learners to practice real-world customer interaction, product pricing, and sales before operating independently. This experiential dimension closes the gap between technical skill and business readiness that most vocational training programs leave open.

Who are the first graduates of the Wooden Spoon Business Innovation Center and when did they complete training?
The first batch of Bread and Pastry Production NC II enrollees at the Wooden Spoon completed their certification program in April 2019. On July 5, 2019, 50 graduates from this and subsequent batches formally marched and received their TESDA certifications at a graduation ceremony. These graduates came from diverse backgrounds — from complete beginners entering baking for the first time to experienced self-taught bakers and online entrepreneurs seeking to formalize and professionalize their existing skills.

What does completing the Wooden Spoon NC II program actually qualify graduates to do?
The NC II certification in Bread and Pastry Production is a nationally recognized TESDA qualification that certifies the holder’s competency in professional baking and pastry production. Beyond the technical credential, the Wooden Spoon program also incorporates entrepreneurial mindset sessions, business registration guidance, and costing training — giving graduates both the craft skill and the foundational business knowledge needed to operate their own bakery enterprise. The Cafe Juana within the facility allows trainees to practice real business operation before graduation.

What is the 7M’s framework and how does it prepare graduates for business ownership?
The 7M’s is an entrepreneurship ladder developed through the partnership between TESDA, DTI Go Negosyo, and Pilmico that aspiring baker entrepreneurs are encouraged to continue after graduation. The framework addresses seven dimensions of business development: Mindset, Mastery, Mentorship, Money, Machine, Market, and Models. By scaffolding business competency development across these seven areas through ladderized courses, it aims to take graduates from newly certified bakers to viable, sustainable MSME operators in the bread and pastry industry.

How does the graduate experience of Ellen illustrate the program’s impact?
Ellen, a recently retired beginner baker, enrolled in the program with no commercial baking experience and a purely educational motivation. By the end of the program, her perspective had shifted — she began to see bakery not just as a skill but as a viable future business. Her testimony captures the Wooden Spoon’s most important non-technical outcome: the transformation of aspiration into confidence. Graduates leave not just certified but believing in the commercial possibility of what they have learned.