Financial Policies

IMPORTANT NOTICE
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic we have temporarily suspended Cash Payments, for more information on alternative means of payment, refer to our policy below.
 

PLEASE READ OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES CAREFULLY
 

What are our Services

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All services offered International Labor Force - Skills Mastery (ILF-SMI), Inc. are the qualifications listed under Admissions, Academics, and Assessments or those courses that are distinctly identifiable by their qualification title, accreditation no., and status. 

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When a student is admitted (their name has been encoded into the SMI registry of students and is received and validated by TESDA) or when assessment applicants  are endorsed to the school, it is "understood that he/she is engaged for the entirety of the program"

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Since Technical Vocational Courses are considered short courses and require the purchase of tools and materials, as well as the contracting and hiring of trainers certain non-refundable fees may apply.

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Who can avail of our Services
 

Employers, Industry Practitioners, Professionals, and Career Shifters are those individuals who are currently employed under any industry sector covered by a TESDA Training Regulation, practitioners are individuals who poses a degree of skill and proficiency in their trade but lack the formalization of their education or simply do not have the corresponding National Certificate as evidence of their expertise.

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Certified TVET Graduates are those individuals who have graduated or are in possession of a Certificate of Training from a duly registered Technical-Vocational Institution (TVI) but have yet to undergo the national competency assessment.

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Scholars or Beneficiaries are those individuals who have been identified as recipients of a scholarship grant by either a public or private entity through a specific project which requires that they undergo Technical-Vocational Education and Training

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Payment Policies

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Skills Mastery Institute has only three (3) recognized modes of payment, Cash Payments or Over-the-Counter Payments, Bank or Electronic Payments, and Check Payments.  Sadly, SMI does not yet accept Credit Card or Debit Card Payments, nor does SMI accept online payments such as PAYPAL™, SKRILL™, DragonPay™, GCASH™, PAYMAYA™, etc.  SMI however accepts scholarship grant voucher payments only from select corporate, government, and non-government partners.

Full Payment is required before the start of any training or assessment service at SMI, this is to ensure that all necessary purchases and costs are made so that it does not affect the Training/Assessment experience.

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Cash Payments can be made only at the front office of the SMI Main Campus, only a representative from the finance department is authorized to receive payment and issue an official receipt, SMI finance department staff are identifiable through their identification cards, be careful not to make payments to individuals claiming to be representatives of Skills Mastery Institute.* 

Transnational Education payments made through SMI intended for off-shored certifications as identified by SMI under the Transnational Education Sector are coursed through COHORT GO™, SMI will begin the remittance process with Cohort Go then provide you with the payment instruction indicating a conversion rate which we will email to you via finance(a)smi.edu.ph, the conversion rate is valid for only 48-hours and will become invalid once the time has elapsed, SMI will only remit the amount indicated in the payment instruction assuming you made a bank deposit into our corporate bank account, if your deposit exceeds the amount indicated in the payment instruction, SMI will return your excess payments after training has ended and before the graduation/completion ceremony.

Proof of Payment Made/Remitted payments made to our international partners will be evidenced through a service invoice emailed to you by either SMI or the international partner directly, payments made to SMI directly for administration and management fee will be evidenced through official receipt.

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Remember to always ask for an official receipt 

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Check, Bank Deposit, or Electronic Payments can be made at any Banco Sentral ng Pilipinas recognized Universal or Commercial banks, Savings Banks, Rural and Cooperative Banks, or Defunct and Merged Banks. (See list of Philippine Banks)

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Official corporate bank accounts of Skills Mastery Institute and it's subsidiaries.

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For Peso Transactions by Students and Employers

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) - Velez Branch

Account Name: International Labor Force - Skills Mastery (ILF-SMI), Inc.

Account Number: 1 501 532 483

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For Dollar or Foreign Currency Transactions

BDO Unibank - Velez Branch

Account Name: International Labor Force - Skills Mastery (ILF-SMI), Inc.

Account Number: 

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For Government Transactions
Land Bank of the Philippines

Account Name: International Labor Force - Skills Mastery (ILF-SMI), Inc.

Account Number: 

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For SMILES Foundation Transactions

BDO Unibank - Velez Branch

Account Name: Skills Mastery Institute for Learning Education and Employment (SMILES) Foundation, Inc.

Account Number: 

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Check Payments can be made but please note that check payments must be made at least 3-5 working days before the start of training especially when the issued check is not in the same bank as this will require a check clearing procedure which may take from one (1) up to three (3) working days.

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Pricing and applicable Taxes
 

SMI follows a simple pricing formula, we factor in several items when setting the prices for our services, but most notably the applicable taxes, SMI applies the standard Final Income Tax Withheld (2306) at three percent (3%) and the Creditable Tax Withheld at Source (2307) at two (2%) on all its training and assessment services 

Value-Added Tax (VAT) Exempted Transactions
 

As a non-stock non-profit corporation SMI generally does not impose the VAT on training and assessment services, however, SMI does impose the twelve percent (12%) value-added tax for training and assessment services paid for by industry partners, employers, or other Technical-Vocational Training Providers which are NOT VAT Exempted, accounting or finance officers should note this exemption when recomputing any service you have availed at SMI.

Refund Policies
 

As a general policy SMI may refund any amount paid before training begins provided certain conditions are met such as timing (days before the actual start of training, see Refunds before Training or Assessment) and relative amount paid.  Also, SMI does require that an applicant file a "adding/dropping" form when processing their withdrawal from the institute.
 

Refunds before Training through Drop or Withdrawal

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The amount equivalent to seventy-five percent (75%) of an applicant's tuition can be refunded to him/her if they wish to dropout no later than three (3) working days or a full weekend (if the class begins on a Monday) before the training starts, the reason why SMI retains 25% of the paid tuition fee is because of the fixed costs of training that have to be paid upfront before lecture starts, costs such as a trainer's professional fee and allowance, the materials and consumables that have to be purchased - and the cost of maintenance and storage for the same materials and consumables and the administrative costs that go into the preparation of an SMI training program.

Refunds during Training through Drop or Withdrawal

The amount equivalent to fifty-percent (50%) of an applicant's tuition fee can be refunded to him/her if they wish to dropout no later than one (1) week or five (5) school days from the start of training, the reason why SMI retains 50% of the paid tuition fee is the same rationale as provided in the previous policy Refunds before Training.

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Refunds after Training through Drop or Withdrawal

Refunds are no longer available after the first week of training or after the Basic Competencies have been discussed, the reason why SMI now retains 100% of the paid tuition fee is the same rationale as provided in the previous policy Refunds before Training through Drop or Withdrawal. 

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Refunds for Assessments through Cancellation or Withdrawal
 

Once a letter of application, or letter of endorsement has been received and acknowledged by the Assessment Center, and an assessment schedule has been set and agreed upon by both parties (The applicant and the Assessment Center) we will consider the assessment to be non-refundable.

Protest of Training Grades or Assessment Results resulting in Refunds

An assessment candidate, student, or any authorized representative of their respective school, company owner, or employer may challenge the training grade or assessment result of any service offered by SMI provided that the reason for their failure is vague or unclear to them, or is not justified by any written document such as their quizzes, written examinations, or competency assessment results summary (CARS).

Procedure: Before a formal protest of a grade or assessment result can be made, the student, school representative, company owner, or      employer must first, file a letter of complaint addressed to the President and CEO of SMI, a select impartial committee will be made and a thorough investigation will then be made then a resolution will follow thereafter.  The student will be called to appear before the SMI select impartial committee for consultation and a final ruling will be made.  If at any point the student is dissatisfied with the findings or presumes that the committee erred in the admission of evidences, the student may then elevate the matter to the Provincial Director of TESDA, in accordance with the principle of Due Process.  If TESDA should rule against SMI's findings, only then will the student/applicant be eligible for a refund based on amicable settlement.

Postponements

SMI reserves the right to postpone or to delay any aspect of training and assessment, such as, the start date, the end date, or the date of assessment.  The reason for this is there may be several factors that go into training and assessment scheduling such as the availability of trainers or assessors, or the condition of tools and equipment, or the availability of facilities due to conflicting training schedules.  These factors can cause some inconvenience some students but in now way disqualify SMI from completing its service offering to the student.
 

Cancellation of Training or Assessment Schedule

SMI reserves the right to cancel, at any point, its training or assessment service offering, for whatever reason it may deem necessary, such as but not limited to force majeure, vis major, casus fortuit, or casus fortuitus, unforeseen events, accidents, natural or man-made calamities, or armed conflict. 

SMI reserves the right to cancel scholarships as defined under our Scholarship Center, the sudden revocation or rescinding of scholarship funds by the benefactor or government agency from the project is considered an unforeseen event which is beyond SMI's control.

Termination of Training or Assessment Services

SMI reserves the right to terminate, at any point its training or assessment service offering, for whatever reason it may deem necessary, such as serious personal insult or injury by the customer or any of their authorized representatives to any SMI staff or faculty, the procurement of SMI services for illegal nefarious purposes that are punishable by law as defined by the Philippine Criminal Code and other Philippine Special Laws, and lastly, but not limited to the violation of any of the terms and conditions outlined in the Financial Policies, Student Policies (Student Handbook), or Terms of References such as Memorandum of Agreement, Implementing Guidelines, Project Proposals, Procurement Standards, etc.

Refund Procedure

SMI reserves the right to chose the means with which it returns your refunds, we may opt for bank or electronic transfer, check issuance, or cash issuance supported by acknowledgement receipt, we require 5-10 working days processing of refunds before they are issued.

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Contacting Us

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All the prices are the specific service offerings of Skills Mastery Institute, if you have any questions, suggestions, or would wish to negotiate or partner with us on any of our offerings please do not hesitate to contact us via the information provided below.

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This page was last updated 31 August 2020
 

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