DOLE’s ‘My First Job’ to provide skills training

MANILA, Philippines -The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is implementing a  $5.6 million job facilitation program in an effort to sharply reduce the over one million jobless youth nationwide.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the government is mounting the “My First Job” program to provide skills training and promote employment among youth.

“Despite our existing career guidance, job facilitation and other programs, our youth continue to experience long job search and high unemployment rate so we crafted this new program particularly targeting the young unemployed,” Baldoz said.

Baldoz noted that the program was basically intended to help the youth, which comprised almost half of the estimated three million unemployment people nationwide.

The program would initially benefit 1,600 youth from three regions — National Capital Region, CALABARZON and Central Luzon — with  the highest youth employment rate.

If the pilot-testing of the program proved successful, Baldoz said, they would also roll out the job facilitation program in other regions in the country.

According to Baldoz, DOLE is partnering with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for the implementation of  three-year program starting January 2014.

CIDA country representative Luke Myerssaid the much publicized economic growth has not translated into more jobs and the Philippines continue to suffer from high unemployment and underemployment rate.

Thus, he said, CIDA and the ADB is extending to the Philippines $5.6 million financial grant to help Filipino youth find jobs at much faster rate and encourage more foreign investors to put up business in the country.

“Through this  assistance, the government of Canada is confident that can contribute to the Philippines’ goal of improving youth employability and stimulate demand for labor,” he said.            

Shigeko Hattori, ADB director, said that at this time, most Filipino youth do not have the required skills to get employed or yet to decide on the career path they want to pursue.

“On the average, high school graduates in the Philippines take three years to get full employment and four years to get wage employment,” Hattori disclosed as she expressed optimism that the project could help resolve the existing problem in the country.