DOLE moves to curb high youth unemployment

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has embarked on a new program to curb the country’s  high unemployment rate among young Filipinos.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the DOLE has partnered with the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) for the implementation of a five-year initiative dubbed Youth Works PH.

With funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Bello said the DOLE will implement the nationwide initiative that aims to make education and training more responsive to the needs of the economy by engaging the academe, industry, government and other stakeholders.

The program is expected to enhance the employability of the Filipino youth who are “not in education, employment or training.”

“Our human capital is the key driver in promoting inclusive growth and sustainable economic development in the country, hence, developing work-based training programs for the Filipino youth is vital to prepare them for the world of work,”  Bello said.

The project will provide youth beneficiaries with work-based training positions, which will be complemented by classroom-based skills training and competency certifications as well as life skills training.

Through the collaboration, DOLE will endorse suitable beneficiaries and link them to employment opportunities with partner companies through the support of the public employment service offices.

He said  the DOLE and the PBEd will  work closely together to identify key training and employment needs, formulate responsive work-based training models, pilot localized labor market intelligence systems, and conduct training on job projections and competency-based hiring for partner companies.