DoLE to fund workers’ skills upgrade projects

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) is set to provide financial assistance to support enterprises in upgrading workers’ competencies and enhancing their overall transformative capacity.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma issued a Department Order 241, Series of 2024, or the “Implementing Guidelines of the DoLE Adjustment Measures Program (DoLE-AMP) for Workers and Enterprises” last Thursday.

As stated in the department order, “the objective of the DoLEAMP is to reduce or mitigate the vulnerability of workers and enterprises from economic disruptions, and thereby enhance their capacity for job preservation and generation, improve human resource and enterprise viability and resilience, raise levels of productivity and competitiveness, and actively contribute to the promotion of decent and sustainable work opportunities.”

Under the DoLE-AMP, a proponent, such as an employer, enterprise, business organization, legitimate labor organization or accredited co-partner, may initiate a project that may consist of any or a combination of the following components: capacitybuilding measures; business enhancement and adaptation measures; just transition measures; product development and innovation measures; and reward systems and productivity improvement measures.

The application shall signed by the duly authorized representative of the proponent and addressed to the DoLE Regional Office, where the project shall be implemented.

According to the DoLE, if the project proposal consists of several parts to be implemented in different regions, the application shall be filed in the DoLE Regional Office, where the initial or main part of the project shall be implemented, and the DoLE Central Office, through the Bureau of Local Employment.

DoLE regional offices where parts or phases of the proposed project will be implemented shall also be furnished with a copy of the proposal.

Then, the DoLE regional director and the duly authorized representative of the proponent or accredited co-partner shall execute a memorandum of agreement to implement an approved project.

For projects divided into two or more phases, the proponents shall submit a progress and liquidation report based on the work and financial plan and a certification that it is implemented according to schedule before the release of subsequent tranches.

As administrator of the DoLEAMP, the DoLE Regional Offices are tasked to ensure that the projects are being implemented following the approved project proposal.

The guidelines shall take effect 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.