MANILA, April 11 (PNA) — Lawmakers have moved to institutionalize a nationwide implementation of the JobStart Philippines Program to enhance the knowledge and skills acquired in the formal education or technical training of Filipino jobseekers.
Reps. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles (1st District, Davao City), Emmeline Y. Aglipay Villar (Party List, DIWA), Florencio T. Flores, Jr. (2nd District, Bukidnon) and Deogracias B. Ramos, Jr. (2nd District, Sorsogon) authored House Bill 5468, which seeks to provide jobseeker-trainees with a venue to apply relevant theories and code of ethics within a conducive and safe work environment.
Nograles, chairperson of House Committee on Labor and Employment, said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) launched in May last year the JobStart Philippines Program, a remedial undertaking aimed at assisting the at-risk youth, improving their school-to-work transition and increasing their chances of integrating into productive employment.
Funded by the government of Canada and with technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, the project was undertaken in General Trias, Cavite; San Fernando, Pampanga; Taguig City, and Quezon City, Nograles said.
“The pilot project included 3,200 program beneficiaries and the development of a model full-cycle employment facilitation services at the local level, benchmarking good practices from Kenya, Chile and the United States,” according to Nograles.
Aglipay-Villar said the bill aims to replicate the success of the JobStart program and cascade it on a national scale covering at least 70,000 JobStart program beneficiaries by 2020.
“Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs) will be able to offer an enhanced employment facilitation services and an improved local labor market information system,” Aglipay-Villar said.
“Given the country’s employment thrust to address the job-skills mismatch and facilitate the smooth transition of graduates and trainees to the work force, it is deemed imperative to institute reforms to modernize the PESOs and implement a nationwide youth employment program that enhances the employability of jobseekers and assists their integration in the labor force,” Aglipay-Villar said.
The measure requires program participants to be 18 to 24 years old at the time of the registration period; at least a high school graduate; not employed, studying, nor undergoing training at the time of the registration; and with less than one year or no work experience.
The Program shall include full employment facilitation services such as registration or client assessment, one-on-one career guidance, life skills and technical training, job matching, and referrals either for further technical training or for employment in an establishment.
The DOLE, as the executing agency of the Program, shall establish a JobStart Unit at the Bureau of Labor and Employment (BLE) to be headed by a Program manager, who shall provide the necessary technical and administrative assistance to concerned Regional and Field Offices and PESOs.
The JobStart Unit shall provide the establishment the training costs, trainees’ stipends, allowances, administrative costs, or other fees, if any, as specified under an approved signed Memorandum of Agreement between DOLE and the establishment.
An oversight committee shall oversee the implementation of the Program, chaired by the DOLE, composed of representatives from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and representatives from the youth, employer, and labor sector.
After five years, the committee shall conduct a comprehensive assessment to evaluate the impact of the program, and a report shall be transmitted to both Houses of Congress, through the Secretary of DOLE.
The Secretary of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in coordination of concerned agencies, shall formulate the necessary rules and regulations to implement the provisions of the proposed Act.(PNA)