COVID-19, unemployment, and positive government responses

(Conclusion)

To be sure, its responses cannot be confined to the enforcement of the ECQ and the distribution of dole-outs. Government financial resources are not unlimited. More importantly, our people have to be taught to help themselves, with government guidance and assistance.

An example of a possible government response is the free mass training (through distance learning) of those interested in skills that can be taught via television or the internet, under a system of testing that will earn the trainees qualifying certificates.

A collaboration among the TESDA, the Department of Science and Technology, the DOLE, the University of the Philippines, and the government press office can certainly make this kind of project a reality.

For example, computer skills (programming and other computer-related skills) can be offered under a system that checks attendance and tests the trainees for certificates. This approach may encourage people to innovate during lockdown, while preparing them for normalization.

English reading and writing proficiency skills should be very valuable to our younger workers who have lost their appetite for reading and writing. Encouragement can be provided through free Internet access to on-line libraries that will allow on-line reading of selected books and materials.

Even law schools may benefit from this type of training given the pronounced deficiency in English communication skills of many Bar examinees as shown in past Bar exams. English proficiency may even improve the performance of the examinees in the 2021 Bar exams.

The government may partner with the private sector in providing free Internet access in exchange for government-sponsored training of people in skills that businesses may need to compete for COVID-19-induced opportunities within our region. Other regional neighbors are already undertaking these types of activities.

Government may perhaps even take a direct hand in reviving business activities and opening new opportunities by setting up Internet malls (jobs and goods exchanges managed by government) where businesses – big or small - can register, advertise, and sell to direct buyers under government-enforced guidelines that will ensure payment and delivery of the transacted items or services.

Locked-down businesses and clients will surely welcome this kind of government intervention. It may be a blessing for clients in need of services difficult to secure under lockdown conditions, such as carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and others similarly skilled craftsmen who can provide services under strict ECQ precautions.

All these are mentioned as food for thought to jump-start the government’s own thinking along these lines. We have enough government professionals and experts who can enrich, enliven, and implement these starting ideas. With active private sector participation, these ideas can immeasurably expand.

Let’s band together and show the world that this nation can lick not only COVID-19 but also its consequences and aftermath.