GenSan 'Jobstart' program to enlist 100 more youths

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will enlist an additional 100 disadvantaged youths here for this year's wave of the innovative Jobstart Philippines Program.

Sisinio Cano, DOLE 12 (Soccsksargen) director, said Friday the processing of the beneficiaries is underway in coordination with the city government's Public Employment Service Office (PESO).

Cano said they prioritized at-risk or disadvantaged youths as beneficiaries of the training-for-employment initiative.

Under the program, qualified youths will undergo a 10-day life skills training, up to three months of technical skills training, and a maximum of three months of internship with its partner industries.

Cano said they tapped at least eight employers in the city to provide for the training and internship of the beneficiaries.

The official said they conducted an orientation with their partner-employers last week regarding the 2019 wave of the Jobstart program.

"We tackled measures on how we can further enhance the skills and abilities of the beneficiaries to properly meet the requirements of the employers," he said in a statement.

Jobstart is an employment facilitation program that assists youths aged 18 years to 24 years who have at least reached the high school level, currently not working and have not worked for more than a year.

It is implemented by DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment, with funding and technical assistance from the government of Canada and the Asian Development Bank.

In 2018, DOLE-12 said some 239 youths in the city completed the training and work internships provided by the program. (PNA)