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MAY 24, 2016

NR # 4210B

JobStart Philippines Program pushed


The House of Representatives has unanimously approved on third and final reading
a measure institutionalizing the nationwide implementation of JobStart Philippines
Program to help the unemployed youth in their job search by enhancing their knowledge
and skills acquired in formal education or technical training.
Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles (1st District, Davao City) said House Bill 6415,
known as the JobStart Philippines Act is an offshoot of JobStart Philippines Program,
which was funded by Canada with technical assistance from the Asian Development
Bank, was already implemented in General Trias, Cavite; San Fernando, Pampanga;
Taguig City and Quezon City.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) launched in May 2014 the
JobStart Philippines Program, a remedial undertaking aimed at assisting the at-risk youth,
improving their school-to-work transition and increasing their chances of integrating into
productive employment.
The pilot project included 3,200 program beneficiaries and the development of a
model full-cycle employment facilitation services at the local level, benchmarking good
practices from Kenya, Chile and the United States, Nograles said.
The measure aims to replicate the success of the JobStart program and cascade it on
a national scale covering at least 70,000 JobStart program beneficiaries by 2020.
The measure is one of the House thrusts to increase employment and help the
young become productive members of the society, he said.
To speed things up we are adopting the Senate version of both bills, Senate Bill
3091 of Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Committee on Labor, Employment
and Human Resources Development, Nograles, the chairman of the House Committee on
Labor and Employment said.
Under the measure, the program requires participants from 18 to 24 years old, high
school graduate, not employed, neither studying nor undergoing training at the time of
registration and with less than one year or no work experience.
The Program shall include full employment facilitation services such as registration
or client assessment, one-on-one career guidance, life skills and technical training, job
matching, and referrals either for further technical training or for employment in an
establishment.

A Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs) will be able to offer an enhanced


employment facilitation services and an improved local labor market information system.
PESO is a community-based multi-employment service facility, linked to the
regional offices DOLE for coordination and technical supervision, and to the DOLE
central office to constitute the national employment service network.
The measure shall further define the duties and responsibilities of JobStart trainees
and participating establishments, including the roles of Local Government Units (LGUs),
PESOs, DOLE, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA),
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The LGUs, through the PESOs, shall serve as the conduit of the DOLE in
implementing the program at the local level.
The DOLE shall establish a JobStart Unit at the Bureau of Labor and Employment
(BLE) and in every DOLE regional office.
The JobStart Unit shall provide the establishment of the training costs, trainees
stipends and allowances, administrative costs or other fees, if any, as specified under a
memorandum of agreement between the DOLE and the establishment.
The Department of Labor and Employment as the implementing agency of the
Program, in coordination with the concerned agencies, shall formulate the necessary rules
and regulations to implement the provision of the proposed Act. (30) jc

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