The Canadian government has provided for 100 vouchers or beneficiaries for Dumaguete City as part of the program initiated by the Department of Labor and Employment- Bureau of Local Employment (DOLE) dubbed as JobStart Philippines.
The program was launched in Dumaguete City on Monday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the city government of Dumaguete, represented by Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria, DOLE regional director Exequiel Sarcauga and Director Dominique Rubia-Tutay of the Bureau of Local Employment and witnessed by DOLE Dumaguete field officer Maritess Mercado and Public Employment Service Officer Socorro Mira.
JobStart is aimed at helping jobseekers who are at risk that includes high school graduates but could not proceed to college due to financial difficulties, aged 18 to 22 years old.
The initial slots of 100 beneficiaries from Dumaguete will undergo life skills training for one week through the technical support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Canadian government after which their names will be submitted for an interview with local employers who have pledged support to the program.
A three-month technical skills training with TESDA- registered providers will follow, using the training design to match the skills needed by the employers who are expected to submit available vacancies of their respective companies.
While undergoing the On-the-Job training, P1000 per applicant is subsidized by the Canadian government to the employers concerned while the concerned job seeker is given P200 per day as stipend for his or her transportation and food allowance.
Fifty local employers were invited to witness the MOU signing to include call centers, hotels and restaurants, department stores, cable stations, and the like.
While on OJT, the employer will pay 75percent of the minimum pay and ones accepted as an employee, a onetime subsidy of P1,200 will be given to the concerned jobseeker to be used in the processing of papers for his or her employment to include the clearances.
Mira said the role of the employers is very crucial in this endeavor since they will commit to provide up to three months of internships with a commitment to pay at least 75 percent of the minimum wage.
JobStart Philippines started last year in four pilot areas in the National Capital Regioin particularly in Quezon City and Taguig City, Region IV-A in General Trias , Cavite and Region III in San Fernando City, Pampanga.
This year, it is being expanded to ten more public employment offices in NCR, Region IV-B, Region VII to include Dumaguete City, and Region XI. (PNA)
