Manila: For many young Filipinos, especially those hoping to build a career in the service industry, bartending has quietly evolved from a side job to a serious profession. More than just serving drinks behind a bar, the work requires a unique skill set that combines knowledge of a wide range of products, technical precision, creativity, physical endurance, and, most importantly, the ability to connect with people. And as the food and beverage, hospitality, spirits, and bar industries today continue to grow and evolve, it's these qualities that make Filipino bartenders sought after all over the world.
According to Philippines News Agency, for over a decade, a dedicated facility on the second floor of the Technical Education and Skills Development Administration (TESDA) Women's Center building in Taguig City has been producing job-ready graduates equipped with bartending skills that catapult them into rewarding careers both here and abroad. Dubbed the GSM Bar Academy, this hands-on training facility was built by Ginebra San Miguel Inc. and opened in TESDA in 2014, on the occasion of its flagship Ginebra San Miguel brand's 180th anniversary.
Over the last 12 years, the GSM Bar Academy has trained GSMI scholars and delivered waves of Filipinos who serve in high-end bars, cruise ships, hotels, restaurants, resorts, and other hospitality establishments around the world. Many have also ventured into their own food and beverage businesses. The Academy features a professional bar laboratory, a flair-tending gym, and a fully equipped bar. Its program, developed and implemented by TESDA, involves three months of rigorous training that enables students to master bartending fundamentals and beverage preparation, and to learn customer service, workplace professionalism, and responsible alcohol service.
Once graduates earn their TESDA Bartending Program National Certificate II (NC-II) from the Academy, they are considered fully ready to join the industry and meet its demands and standards. At the recent World Gin Day celebrations led by GSMI, a number of alumni reconnected with the Academy and assisted in the micro-credential bartending program that became one of the highlights of the event. Some of them proudly shared stories of their successful journeys in the field.
Ann Rose Tapar, a March 2025 NC-II graduate, expressed gratitude for the opportunities the Academy provided, which helped her secure positions at top bars in Bonifacio Global City. JP Pe±aflor, a 2022 graduate, became a head bartender and mixologist at an Italian restaurant and later at a five-star hotel bar in BGC, after winning the 2024 cocktail mixing competition organized by GSMI.
For Cherry Galit, the Academy's Technopreneur track enabled her to start a mobile bar business, which now serves major clients, including GSMI, and employs other Academy graduates. Angela Felarca, who left a corporate finance career, became the first female bartender at a mobile bar company specializing in high-end events, attributing her success to the training at the GSM Bar Academy.
In 2025, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. recognized the Academy as a 'national model for public-private partnership in technical-vocational education.' Recently, Academy trainer Shella Bawar was honored for achieving one of the highest employment rates among programs under the TESDA Women's Center, underscoring the Academy's commitment to transforming skills into livelihoods and rewarding careers.
