Foreign businessmen push reforms to National Apprenticeship Program

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign business groups in the Philippines are pushing for the immediate approval of a proposed measure in the Senate which could help address the country’s soaring unemployment problems. 

In a statement over weekend, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) renewed its call for the passage of Senate Bill 136 which aims to reform the country’s National Apprenticeship Program.

JFC has been pushing for the measure since last year.

“With just a few remaining months of the 16th Congress, this bill deserves urgent consideration in view of the extremely high unemployment rates among young Filipinos,” the JFC said.

The foreign businessmen said the level of investment, both foreign and domestic, in the Philippines has been insufficient so far to create enough decent jobs to meet the growing supply of young workers.

“If this growing crisis for the young people of the country continues without the government providing solutions, their future will be bleak, forcing many to seek work abroad, others to be idle and dependent, and sadly a few to turn to crime and even rebellion and radical politics,” the JFC said.

The business groups cited the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA) apprenticeship program as one of the promising  solutions to the increasing employment for Filipino youth.

The current program allows apprentices to be trained by a private firm up to six months and to receive a fee of 75 percent of the applicable minimum wage.

In 2013, TESDA reported 56,832 students enrolled under the program, 51,912 graduated, and 13,011 were hired by the companies where they apprenticed.

The small number of people who were hired, however, indicates the importance of reforming and expanding the program to provide a route to long-term jobs for much larger numbers of young, the JFC said.

“One important reform is to extend the period of training. A revitalized and reformed apprenticeship program will provide sufficient time for young workers to gain skills while providing companies sufficient time to give them training and assess their working skills. At the end of the apprenticeship period, many more should be offered employment directly where they have trained than in the past,” the groups said.