DAVAO CITY (PIA) – Besides continuously providing career guidance, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) highlights various youth employability programs to prepare the youth in the Davao region for the workforce.
Speaking during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, DOLE-XI assistant regional director Atty. Jason Balais emphasized that by offering employability programs, “we equip young individuals with essential skills for long-term employment and help bridge the gap between education and industry.”
Through the JobStart Philippines Program, which focuses on enhancing the employability of the youth, Balais reported that since 2022, 354 individuals in the region have already received life skills training with 207 individuals successfully secured employment.
“Some of the complaints of the employer is parang kulang sa life skills yung mga nag-aaply. They’re probably equipped with the knowledge pero in terms of life skills and practical skills to start their employment ‘yon ang wala, so we’re addressing that through our JobStart Philippines Program,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Balais said that the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) has been very helpful to employed students not only with their school expenses but also with exposing them to the “world of work,” making school-to-work transition easier.
Since 2022, Balais reported that 12,339 students have already availed of the program across the region, where they were deployed to both private and public establishments.
The Government Internship Program (GIP) was also instrumental in giving opportunities to young interns to experience what it is like to work in the public sector by engaging in various government offices, Balais shared.
He added that the work exposure through GIP does not only allow interns to develop skills but also “gives them options as to whether they want to go the government service or join the private sector.”
For instance, Balais reported that since 2022, 10,990 young interns have already benefited from the program.
Moreover, Balais said that in conjunction with these programs are their continuous efforts to address job and skill mismatch among young professionals through conducting career guidance.
He added they conducted various extensive career guidance for grades 10 and 12 completers and even college graduates.
“We ensure that we give them career guidance, we provide them labor market information that will show them what are the in-demand jobs, what are the careers that they can pursue, what are those hard to fill job so that they decide for example for what courses they’re going to take in college,” he explained. (clc/ASO/PIA XI)
