DOLE launches anew ‘JobStart’ program in Baguio

BAGUIO CITY-- The Department of Labor and Employment-Cordillera Administrative Region (DOLE-CAR), the city government here and 11 private companies have partnered for the second year of implementation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded “JobStart” program.

 “This program is aimed at giving employees a higher chance of being employed and addressing the problem on job mismatch,” said Jesus Elpidio Atal Jr., assistant regional director of the DOLE-CAR during a press conference on Wednesday.

 He said the Philippines is not spared from the issue of the job mismatch wherein the skill needed for the available job is not fitted to the worker's skills and training.

 Through JobStart, the beneficiary will receive specific training from a company with a high chance of being hired by the same after the completion of the training.

 “Our schools are producing skills which are not needed in the job market. This is the reason we are also working closely with the CHED (Commission on Higher Education) and TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority),” Atal said.

 Atal said the Canadian government introduced the program through the ADB to the Philippines in 2017 via the “JobStart” program.

 JobStart is a six-month program which will start from a 10-day life skills training where the attitude and the inter-personal relationship of a person are enhanced.

 It will be followed by a three-month technical training by a company where the trainee will be provided with the training for the actual job. It will then be enhanced by the three-months internship and on the job training at the same company.

 The training will be industry-specific to fit the job vacancy in the partner companies.

The beneficiary will receive a training allowance of PHP200 per day from the start of life skills training. The amount is funded by the ADB as support to the JobStart program.

 A training fee of PHP240, which is 75 percent of the PHP320 minimum daily wage in Baguio, will be paid by the company where the trainee is assigned.

 "The 100 beneficiaries who will be chosen from the interested applicants are those who are committed to being employed after the six months program," Atal said.

 Julienne Fortunato, DOLE-CAR JobStart focal person, said Baguio is lucky to receive the assistance on its second year.

 “We are one of the 18 lucky local government units to continue the program this year,” she said.

 Fortunato also said Baguio was chosen again because of the high rate of placement during the first year of implementation of the program in 2017.

 She said 168 out of 200 trainees in the first batch were hired after undergoing the training program. Others opted to go back to school while others opted to do other things, she noted.

 She said based on a study, Baguio lacks manpower resources for agriculture and agri-related skills, tourism, construction and information technology, and business process outsourcing (IT-BPO).

 Fortunato, however, said there is an oversupply of teachers, nurses, engineers in the city.

 Moog, an international company based at the Economic Zone in Loakan, is among the 11 hiring companies this year.

 Moog, which was also part of the first-year implementation of the program, said out of 14 trainees it got, they were able to hire 12 of them.

 “They demonstrated the skills we needed as well as the attitude required of the job. One of them is an engineer,” a human resource officer of the company said during the launch.

 Moog manufactures valves and servo valves of airplanes, which are exports of the country.

 Marlene de Castro, the city’s Public Employment Services Office (PESO) manager, said they will receive the application forms and they will also monitor the progress of the trainees, together with the DOLE-CAR.

 “The companies will submit a monthly report of the progress of the trainees," de Castro said, noting they will track where would be the trainees after six months of the training.

 She said one of the 15-point agenda of the administration of Mayor Benjamin Magalong is to reduce the unemployment rate in the city. (PNA)