The Business and Employment Recovery Program-Subprogram 2 focuses on equipping Filipino workers, particularly vulnerable youth and women, with skills that align with evolving industry demands. It also enhances job facilitation programs to improve access to livelihood and employment opportunities.
“While job recovery in the Philippines has been encouraging in the post-COVID-19 period, the quality of jobs remains a critical concern, with many workers still facing challenges such as underemployment, informal work, and limited access to decent work opportunities,” said ADB Country Director for the Philippines Pavit Ramachandran.
“This new program addresses that need and will help in preparing Filipino workers for higher-skilled jobs such as in analytics and artificial intelligence, software development and security, and business process management—industries where Filipinos have a proven potential to excel,” he said.
The government aims to increase formal private sector employment by 600,000–700,000 jobs annually, raising the private sector’s share to total employment to 51 percent, from 49 percent in 2019 before the pandemic caused significant job losses.
Additionally, the initiative will provide skills training for 5,000 displaced workers through programs like SkillsUpNet Philippines, boost public employment service offices (PESOs) to facilitate 120,000 job placements annually, and expand JobStart Philippines to more local government units (LGUs).
This ADB-backed initiative builds on previous labor market reforms, including the Facilitating Youth School-to-Work Transition Program and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) training upgrades. —Ed: CSN
