DOTC Opens 550 Skills Training Slots for Drivers, Operators Affected by Php 10.6-B Cebu City BRT Project

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has opened 550 slots for employment assistance and skills training for jeepney drivers and operators who will be affected by the implementation of the Php 10,6-billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system here.

Lawyer Rafael Yap, BRT Cebu project head, said the DOTC would conduct the training for 17 courses in cooperation with the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and the Cebu City Government.

The registration started Monday and would last until Sept. 23.

Applicants to the program will be given a training allowance of Php 340 per day, which will only be given at the end of the training.

The training will prioritize jeepney drivers and operators for 22 routes that will be “adversely affected” once the Php 10.6 billion BRT project is implemented.

Those who can’t join the training because of work could send a family member, up to second degree of consanguinity, Yap said.

Yap said this was just the first batch of employment assistance and skills training that would be given.

Some 1,100 jeepney drivers and operators will be affected by the BRT, a 16-kilometer project that will run from Barangay Bulacao in the south to Barangay Talamban in the north. (PNA) RMA/EB/EDS