ADB approves $400 million loan for youth employment

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has secured a $400-million (P20.1-billion) funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to boost job opportunities for young Filipinos amid the pandemic.

In a statement yesterday, the Manila-based multilateral lender said it has approved a $400-million policy-based loan for the Facilitating Youth School-to-Work Transition Program-Subprogram 3, which aims to reduce the time that at-risk young Filipinos spend to find work after finishing school.

The new funding will also boost government efforts to expand employment and skills programs to ensure that youths are able to find quality jobs.

ADB director Jose Antonio Tan emphasized that there is an urgent need to help young Filipinos find work through innovative labor market programs and skills development initiatives.

The urgency has intensified as the pandemic has led to job losses in many sectors, especially among young people.

While employment in the country has improved, it has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels as many business operations, especially in tourism and services, have yet to return.

“This new loan reflects our long-term commitment to ensuring that young people find jobs to improve their lives and create a wider employment base for post-pandemic economic growth,” Tan said.

Further, the program will assist the Department of Labor and Employment in boosting job facilitation capacity of Public Employment Services Offices (PESOs) nationwide, strengthening labor market programs, improving workplace skills development, and creating a healthy work environment.

The third subprogram follows the similar loans approved in 2017 and 2019 which helped fund reforms that led to full operationalization of PESOs and established DOLE’s flagship JobStart Philippines program.

This provided over 20,000 at-risk youth with skills training and paid internships, and strengthened apprenticeships.

ADB Southeast Asia Principal Financial Sector specialist Stephen Schuster said the new loan would help young job seekers, especially women, access training opportunities and enhance their skills development.

“It will strengthen labor market policies and provide assistance to returning Filipino workers who lost jobs overseas because of the pandemic, through group livelihood and entrepreneurship programs,” he said.

Among the reforms supported by the new loan are the creation of a P1 billion ($200 million) Job Assistance Scholarship Fund, unemployment insurance scheme, and the First Time Jobseekers Act.

ADB said it is preparing more support for the country’s labor sector next year including a technical and vocational education and training project and a post-COVID-19 employment recovery program.