1st JobStart Philippines Program Graduation: Milestones Include 677 Job Placements and 685 Internship Placements

“JobStart Philippines Program’s full-cycle employment facilitation service has, indeed, prepared more young people for productive employment.”

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz expressed this observation after receiving an update report from the Bureau of Local Employment saying that 677 JobStart Philippines Program beneficiaries have found gainful work after having been immersed in the program.

“To be job-ready, one needs to have the basic technical competencies for the job; and to excel at work, to have the required non-technical life-skills. JobStart offers exactly these know-how to its beneficiaries for their entry in the labor market,” said Baldoz at the first graduation rites of JobStart at the Midas Tent in Pasay City.

The graduation is the culmination of the implementation of the pilot phase of the program that saw 601 young Filipino men and women complete the three cycles of JobStart—life skills training, technical training, and internship.

BLE Director Anna Dominique Rubia-Tutay reported that 5,424 registered for JobStart at its inception last year, but only 1,819 have been selected.

Of this number, 1,413 completed the first cycle—the life skills training—and 685 went through the technical skills training and internship cycles. Finally, only 601 graduated.

“The JobStart Client Tracking System show that 431 of the 1,413 who completed the life skills training were immediately placed in various jobs. Added to this are the 246 who found jobs on their own after the LST, or a total of 677 JobStarters who are now productive members of the labor force,” said Dir. Tutay in her report.

She said the number of JobStarters placed under the program came from Taguig City with 157 placed beneficiaries; followed by General Trias, Cavite, with 99; City of San Fernando, Pampanga, with 89; and Quezon City, with 86.

On the other hand, of the 246 beneficiaries who found jobs after completing the LST, 132 came from Taguig City, 132; Quezon City, 49; City of San Fernando, Pampanga, 45; and General Trias, Cavite, 20.

“Those who found jobs on their own, or placed in jobs after their LST training are working either as production staff, hospitality service staff, service crew, housekeeping attendant, gaming attendant, administrative/office staff, food and beverage staff, manufacturing operator, public area attendant, or store supervisor,” Tutay added.

She also said there are also 28 JobStart beneficiaries who went through technical training, and they, too, have found jobs. Of this number, 12 are from Taguig City; eight from General Trias, Cavite; seven from Quezon City; and one from City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

She further said that 47 of those who completed their internship were absorbed by the training company; 107 were retained by various manpower agencies; and three were referred for potential absorption after internship.

“JobStart is a partnership program of the DOLE, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) which aims to increase the employability of the youth by providing them access to technical and life skills training demanded by employers and by mentoring and tooling them to improve their job searches and outcomes,” Baldoz said, emphasizing the program’s objective to raise youth job placement rate to 80 percent from the current 60-65 percent rate.

For the pilot program, JobStart was implemented in four areas, namely, Quezon City, with 796 selected participants; Taguig City, 440; City of San Fernando, Pampanga, 410; and General Trias, Cavite, 200.

The DOLE had signed memorandum of understanding with the chief executive officers of these four local government units (LGUs) and agreements with employers for internship slots for the pilot implementation of JobStart.

“The agreements with private sector employers to take on beneficiaries as interns ensure that the process is employer-led. At the onset, a training plan is agreed upon between the JobStart team, the intern, and the employer. This plan will cover technical and life skills and on-the job training at the enterprises,” Baldoz said.

Among the top 10 internship positions offered by employers are: (1) Service Crew, with 169 pledged positions; (2) Sales Agent, 138; (3) Production Crew, 130; (4) Manufacturing Operator, 105; (5) Hospitality Service Staff, 99; (6) Store Supervisor, 96; (7) Gaming Attendant, 60; (8) Housekeeping Attendant, 40; (9) Technician, 27; and (10) Ink Jet Opertors and Marketing Staff, 10 each.

“The Philippines is already reaping the fruits of the government’s strategic investments, which started in 2010 after President Benigno Aquino III assumed public office,” Baldoz said.

The fruits of these investments are our youth, the next generation of future workforce. I am confident that, with sustained cooperation from our partner agencies in implementing JobStart, unemployment will soon be addressed as there will be more workers with skills set that meet industry needs—job-ready—and readily-absorbable by the labor market,” she finally said.

Source: www.dole.gov.ph