Youthworks training programs to launch in key southern cities next month

THE Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) said its youth employment training project, which seeks to align job training more closely with industry demand, will be launched in a number of key southern cities starting next month.

Youthworks Ph, PBEd’s workforce development project in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will launch in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro next month. It will also launch in Zamboanga in November.

Youthworks will also launch in Metro Manila next month.

“If we develop a curriculum that only responds to the national level companies…we’re not responding to the issue where the most employers are which are the smaller companies in the provinces and cities,” said Youthworks Ph Chief of Party Karol Mark Yee in a media dinner last week.

He said there is a need to address the need of employers beyond the “national players,” with a curriculum serving the workforce development needs of medium and small-scale industries.

“There are so many opportunities but (the program) really leverages or maximizes the strengths and resources of a specific institution and where they are,” he said.

Youthworks has been in talks with region-specific industries, such as the sardine fishery and halal food producers.

“(There is a market for) halal but they don’t have an existing training program yet,” Mr. Yee said, referring to the Islamic rules for the preparation of food and other goods.

“In Zamboanga, (we’ve also been talking with) sardine factories,” he said.

In Cagayan de Oro, he sees training opportunities in the biofuel industry, with a university there interested in creating “a short term course in renewable energy.”

Launched in June, Youthworks is preparing curricula for all its programs for implementation by early next year. Target sectors include agriculture; banking and finance; construction; energy; hospitality and tourism; and manufacturing.

Youthworks also plans to establish work-based training sites in Iloilo, General Santos, and Davao. —