P5.6 billion allocated for massive skills training of workers

MANILA, Philippines - The Arroyo administration is set to allocate P5.66 billion for a massive skills training and technical education program aimed at helping more than 800,000 workers find higher paying jobs and better employment opportunities this year, Malacañang said yesterday.

National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) head Secretary Domingo Panganiban said the government has commenced efforts to train some 809,800 unskilled Filipino workers for jobs as call center agents, welders, electricians, machine operators, massage therapists, mechanics and clerks through scholarships at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

NAPC, which is under the Office of the President, is the lead coordinating and monitoring agency for the government’s anti-poverty programs.

“The ongoing program is undertaken by TESDA under the leadership of Secretary Augusto Syjuco, and is in line with the basic objectives of President Arroyo’s Economic Resiliency Plan and our poverty reduction policies,” Panganiban said.

He said the budget allocation for the Pangulong Gloria Scholarships will be used to finance nine national programs and 400,000 Filipinos will benefit from TESDA’s free assessment services while 282,000 more workers will be trained through TESDA regional and provincial offices.

“Another 45,000 beneficiaries will undergo instruction through the network of TESDA technology institutions,” Panganiban said.

He said TESDA will train an additional 20,000 workers through its partner industry associations and sectoral groups, while 10,000 more will be trained through the Ladderized Education Program.

“Beyond this, we aim to train 2,000 workers under TESDA’s Balik-Buhay sa Mindanao Program even as we provide instruction to some 10,000 Filipinos under the ‘Sa TESDA May Hanapbuhay Ka’ Program this year,” he said.

Panganiban said the government expects to train another 20,800 workers through the National Technical Vocational Education and Training Program (NTVET).  

“Meanwhile, around 20,000 students will be schooled and trained through the Language Skills Institute,” Panganiban said.

He said interested applicants need only to proceed to the nearest TESDA office for any inquiries.

Meanwhile, Presidential Management Staff (PMS) chief Secretary Hermogenes Esperon maintained that the country would not have negative growth based on latest projections for 2009.

“We are still on track with our GDP (Gross Domestic Product) target of 4.1 percent, outperforming many countries in Asia and a sharp contrast to negative growths elsewhere,” Esperon said in a statement from Pangasinan, where he led a PMS team for a jobs and livelihood program as part of the administration’s Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program.

“We are enlarging the latitude of opportunity for every Pangasinense and our people,” he said.

“While we were threatened by the crisis, we worked hard and are still working hard to give our people, especially our disadvantaged sectors, access to quality services and programs and better means to earn their living and improve their well-being,” he added. 

Esperon expressed confidence that more jobs will be made available through a strengthened partnership with development partners in the country and overseas. – Paolo Romero