- ADB has been supporting the JobStart Philippines youth employment program since 2013 through technical assistance and policy loans totaling $1.1 billion aimed at helping to create a policy environment that promotes youth employment.
- More than 20,000 young Filipinos have benefited from JobStart training in over 7 years, with more than two-thirds coming from low-income households. Over 10,000 youth have found quality jobs after the training.
- The Asian Development Bank has had a long and productive engagement with the Department of Labor and Employment on Jobstart.
- The pandemic is showing that programs like this are critically important to help young people find and stay in jobs.
- ADB Philippines Country Director Kelly Bird: “ADB remains committed to JobStart Philippines, a program that is critically important to help young people find and stay in jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
ADB has been supporting the JobStart Philippines youth employment program since 2013 through technical assistance and policy loans totaling $1.1 billion aimed at helping to create a policy environment that promotes youth employment.
Under the program, at-risk youth undergo technical and life skills training, increasing their chances to find jobs. Over 20,000 young Filipinos have benefited from the training held in 47 locations nationwide. More than two-thirds of the trainees come from low-income households and over 10,000 have found quality jobs after the training.
Transcript
Lyndill Catao-an, Jobstart trainee batch 2021, Baguio City
With the help of Jobstart, I learned to trust myself that I can do certain tasks, since I have a lot of doubts and fears. Through the program, I became more hardworking and learned to be more sociable.
TECHNICAL AND LIFE SKILLS TRAINING
For the past 7 years, Jobstart has been helping young Filipinos transform their lives.
Under the program, young trainees undergo technical and life skills training, increasing their chances to find jobs.
JOBSTART BENEFICIARIES
Thousands have found work after the training, allowing them to add to their family’s income.
Marianne Grace Magracia, 22 years old, Jobstart trainee batch 2019, Legazpi City
“The program was such a big help to me because I now have a source of income even with the pandemic.”
“I am thankful because this program has helped many out-of-school youths like me.”
Jobstart’s 7-year journey started in 2013 with a technical assistance grant funded by ADB and the Government of Canada.
The following year, the grant supported a pilot test for the program in 4 cities.
Trainees receive an allowance during their life skills and technical training, including internships with private sector employers.
The program also aims to deliver gender-sensitive youth employment services and promote the empowerment of women.
In 2016, ADB and the Government of Canada provided a second technical assistance to expand Jobstart nationwide.
That same year, the government signed the Jobstart Philippines Act, providing state funding for the nationwide rollout.
This included professionalizing Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs) across the country, with proper funding and dedicated staff.
JobStart shifted to a digital platform in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Since then, a Youth Employment Exchange has been created to link private firms with PESOs and Jobstart trainees for technical training and to manage progress of participants.
Over 20,000 young Filipinos have now received training, with more than two-thirds coming from low-income households and more than half of all Jobstart graduates have been women.
There are now 47 areas nationwide implementing the program.
Department of Labor and Employment Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay
Jobstart Philippines has now spent close to a decade of providing opportunities and forwarding advocacies that would spearhead the progress of the Filipino community for the years to come.
If there is one thing we consistently embodied in the past 7 years, it’s that the capabilities of our youth should never go unnoticed and underestimated.
Since 2017, ADB has provided loans totaling $1.1 billion to support government reforms to promote youth employment.
Kelly Bird, Philippines Country Director, Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank has had a long and productive engagement with the Department of Labor and Employment on Jobstart.
The pandemic is showing that programs like this are critically important to help young people find and stay in jobs.
Over the longer term, the Asian Development Bank remains committed to the Philippines. And we’d like to see programs like Jobstart Philippines expanded out to many more local government units and to help many more thousands of young Filipinos.
John Lok, Counsellor (Development) and the Head of Cooperation, The Embassy of Canada in the Philippines
The government of Canada has been a long standing supporter of Jobstart. Without the commitment and leadership of the Department of Labor and Employment, and Asian Development Bank, and partners at the local level, the countrywide success of JobStart would not have been possible.
Above all, JobStart would not be possible without the dedication and enthusiasm of the young women and men who participated.
JobStart will continue to help young Filipinos find quality jobs and improve their lives in the years to come.
