P1.8-B jobs program launched

BY GLEE JALEA, Manila Times, May 20, 2019

The United States Agency for International Development (USAid) and the Philippine Business for Education (PBed) launched on Friday a P1.8-billion recruitment program exclusively for unemployed and out-of-school youth.

USAid and PBed formally opened the Youthworks PH Recruitment Drive that is seen to benefit at least 20,000 youth aged 18 to 24. Beneficiaries will undergo technical-vocational training as part
of the five-year workforce development project.

USAid Office of Education Director Brian Levey said the project’s target industries were hospitality and tourism, banking and finance, manufacturing, agriculture, energy and construction.

The program also aims to reach the youth of Greater Manila Area, Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos and Zamboanga by partnering with local government institutions and schools in the mobilization of the recruitment drive.

“The critical aspect of this partnership is the collaboration between the private sector and the youth in helping define where the needs are, which are probable skills needed, what set of curricula will work, and what set of competencies need to be developed in order to make them employable,” PBEd Chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. told reporters.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said earlier this year in its Jobsfit labor market report that the unemployment rate of young adults aged 15 to 24 reached 14.3 percent in 2017 compared to the national unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.

This means youth unemployment remains a problem because even educated individuals or those who graduated from high school or college make a huge part of the jobless population, the report said.

According to del Rosario, “skills-and-needs mismatch” remained a huge employment issue in the labor market.

“This [problem occurs] due to the different education system and the needs of the business community. And one of our main objectives through this program is to, in fact, narrow that gap,” he said.

“That is why we are working with private sectors, not just to give the proper job skill stream that [the students need], but also so that they accept this challenge… of presenting oneself, of interacting with customers and colleagues, among other [skills they need to develop],” Levey said.

Punlaan School, one of Youthworks’ partners in the program, screened applicants during the kick-off launch in Barangay Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Punlaan collaborates with private firms in providing work-based training programs and employment opportunities for women, particularly under the tourism and hospitality industry.

“We have common goals of wanting to reach out to this sector of the society. We have the same vision,” Punlaan School Director Anne Marie Jacinto told The Manila Times.

“We’ve always had 100 percent employment of our graduates, with majority of them working in top hotels. They have been helped and now they are breadwinners of their families,” she added.

United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim graced the event and congratulated the participants for “taking a step toward a promising future.”

He gave assurances that the US government remains committed to working with local businesses and schools to expand access to education, and create increased livelihood and employment opportunities.

YouthWorks PH will hold similar recruitment events and employability workshops at the University of Makati on May 26 and at the Cabalen Technical Institute in Quezon City on July 11, along with other partner schools in Iloilo, Cebu, Bohol, General Santos, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and Davao before the year ends.