A P1 billion US-funded employment training program for the youth organized by the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) will start recruiting beneficiaries early next year.
In an interview with BusinessWorld last week, PBEd executive director Lovelaine B. Basillote said that Youthworks Ph, a workforce development program, will begin seeking out applicants at the beginning of 2019.
“We’ll start recruiting youth not in education in January,” she said.
The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which has given assistance worth $25 million or over P1 billion.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to participate in the project.
Ms. Basillote said Youthworks will be launched in the National Capital Region (NCR) in January.
“(The) public launch in NCR will be in January next year but we’re already in operation,” she said.
Other locations where Youthworks will have work-based training sites are Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan De Oro, General Santos City, Zamboanga City, and Davao City.
Youthworks is developing training curricula in agriculture; banking and finance; construction; energy; hospitality and tourism; and manufacturing.
Ms. Basillote also said that for some locations such as Zamboanga and Cagayan De Oro, training in food processing will also be available.
In September, Youthworks Ph Chief of Party Karol Mark Yee expressed interest in creating a short-term renewable energy course in Cagayan De Oro. — Gillian M. Cortez

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