27 February 2013
After hitting the ground in late 2011, the Joint Program for Youth Employment and Migration or JP-YEM finished in December 2012 with 2,001 graduates or a 101 percent accomplishment.
The graduates, who came from four of the country's poorest provinces - Masbate, Antique, Agusan del Sur and Maguindanao - were given free training in a course of their choice, and later on underwent assessment and received National Certificate from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Of the 2001 graduates, a total of 1,159 or 58 percent have been employed to date. A total of 1,915 graduates or 96 percent took the assessment and 1,414 were certified.
Secretary Joel Villanueva, TESDA director general, said he was satisfied with the rate of graduates hired, but said the agency should do more in helping the young people find their spot in the job market.
"Get into technical vocational education and training (TVET), job guaranteed. This is what we want to achieve," he said.
Villanueva said he aims to "close the loop" by linking the delivery of quality courses to helping graduates compete in the workplace for employment and eventually land in jobs.
"We want to give them specialized skills that companies will look up to as a valuable asset," he added.
According to the tracer study that was recently conducted, the employment rate of JP-YEM graduates at 58.6 percent for the four provinces was "a satisfactory rate considering that the four provinces belong to some of the poorest provinces in the country and have lesser employment opportunities when compared to the provinces which have managed to maintain a more vibrant local economy and attract greater number of investors."
"The training on entrepreneurship and the post-training services that we extended to these graduates facilitated their quick membership to the country's employed and productive workforce," Villanueva said.
Overall, the final report recommended the replication of the JP-YEM program in other poor provinces, highlighting the effectiveness of convergence programs among the government, local government units, international agencies and the private sector.
It also urged the TESDA provincial offices and partner institutions to convince the remaining graduates to undergo the assessment and be certified to complete the training process.
"The training will lead the youth to the path toward the world of work, which can improve their lives and their families, and help them become responsible and productive citizens of this country," the report said.
At the same time, the study recommended the institutionalization of the on-the-job (OJT) training component for all TVET courses to bolster the graduates' competence and readiness for employment.
"There is a need to sustain the skills enhancement and job placement gains under the JP-YEM through continuous tracking of graduates at certain intervals," the final report of the Tracer Study noted.
"Setting aside specific funds for the tracking of graduates will help institutionalize monitoring and evaluation of the results of skills training," according to the study.
The JP-YEM was implemented by TESDA in partnership with the International Labor Organization (ILO). It was funded by the Spanish government under the MDG F 1942 Joint Programme on Alternatives to Migration: Decent Jobs for Filipino Youth.
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