NEWS RELEASE November 21, 2014 DOLE commends Career Readiness Initiative for High School Students in Bataan City of Balanga – “I am pleased to commend the provincial government of Bataan, Servicio Filipino Inc. (SFI) Group of Companies, and American Career Testing (ACT) company, for showing their care and commitment to assure a better future for our young Bataeños - through the implementation of this program that seeks to foster personal and career development, complementary to the government’s and the private sector’s human resource agenda.” These were words of DOLE Undersecretary Reydeluz Conferido to government officials, school representatives, high school students, and non-government organization representatives who were present at the recently concluded International Career Readiness Certificate (ICRC) Awarding Ceremony held at the Lu-is Restaurant, Capitol Drive in Balanga City. The ICRC recognizes the completion of a K-12 KeyTrain curriculum efficacy study among selected 322 junior high school students from 24 public schools and 2 private schools across 12 municipalities in Bataan from January to March this year. The study was administered by the SFI Group of Companies, in partnership with the Bataan provincial government, and supported by the ACT; today’s leader in college assessments in the United States. Those who scored at certain levels on three WorkKey assessments – Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information – qualified either a platinum, gold, silver, or bronze certificate. The students represent 62 percent of the total number of students who were initially assessed. Guest of honors Bataan Governor Hon. Enrique S. Garcia III, SFI Group of Companies President and COO Luis Alberto Anastacio, ACT CEO Dr. John Whitmore, DepEd regional director Dr. Alicia Borres, and DepEd Bataan Superintendent Dr. Tarcila Javier were in full force to award the said certificates. Conferido, who was accompanied by DOLE-3 regional director Atty. Ana C. Dione, and DOLE Bataan Field Office head Leilani Reynoso, pitched in for Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz in delivering her keynote message. Reading the Secretary’s message, Conferido highlighted the importance of the initiatives of government and the private sector in streamlining the career paths for the youth in line with the DepEd’s implementation of the K-12 program. “Enhancing the employability and competitiveness of the youth to improve their chances of being successfully integrated into the world of decent and productive employment requires a very solid foundation in competencies – knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviour - that are increasingly demanded by the changing world of work,” Conferido said, adding: “Fully supportive of the newly-implemented K to 12 program of the government, the DOLE is clearly behind the thrust of effectively linking education and employment through the development of the required competencies even as early as in basic education. We, therefore, would like to commend SFI and ACT for standing in support of the government, and complementing the initiative to develop the Philippine Talent Map, which seeks to assess the skills and competencies of the country’s workforce.” Proponents of the study, for their part, believe that the ICRC program of ACT could have a positive impact on the country’s workforce development vis-à-vis- the government’s K-12 curriculum as well. Conferido shared that, just over a month ago, the DOLE entered into several Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with partner private sector companies for the purpose of “Working Together to Build Better Labor Market Information System (LMIS)” for the country. With the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) facilitating, DOLE, together with the SFI Group of Companies, the Career Hub Network Corporation, JobStreet Philippines Inc., Quantum X, Inc., and The Now Group Inc., agreed to expand the public’s access to career guidance and to further improve the design, ease of use and accessibility, and overall performance of the Phil-Job.net to truly dispense more responsive LMIs to the users and to sustain a more viable system’s development. As part of their corporate social responsibilities and commitment to the country’s human resource development agenda, the private sector companies mentioned, expressed their interest to continue partnership with DOLE in promoting employment opportunities for jobseekers and in facilitating and gaining employers’ confidence in the usefulness of the system for sourcing qualified manpower. Conferido likewise highlighted the DOLE’s initiative in consulting with industries and other concerned sectors of society, such as the academe and labor groups, conduct of studies on what jobs and industries will likely generate substantial employment opportunities in the short and longer terms. “Based on your interests and capabilities, we are also helping you identify jobs suited to your qualifications. In fact, the DOLE has recently updated its 2010 study entitled JobsFit Labor Market Information (LMI) Report, 2013-2020. The said study has been carried out as part of the DOLE’s firm resolve to provide appropriate labor market signals, particularly to industry, the academe and training institutions, to enable them to more adequately respond to the current trends in the labor market,” Conferido explained. The year 2015 is going to be a milestone for the country, according to Conferido, because the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is, by then, going to be integrated - an ASEAN Economic Community, signaling the start of freer trade among the ASEANs 10 member-states, and allowing freer flow of goods and services. “This regional integration is supposed to establish a “highly competitive single market and production base”. Expert analyses predict that its greatest impact will primarily be on the mobility of skilled labor; hence, greater opportunities for our Filipino professionals are expected. Thus, attaining global competitiveness is crucial for the Philippines, since the ASEAN integration will increase competition for jobs, goods and services in the labor market,” Conferido said, adding: ”Because your program is perfectly aligned with such developments, let me congratulate the Bataan provincial government for believing in the potentials of your youth and doing something to bring about their realization. The end-result of your efforts should contribute to the success of the project and of the province. Truly, supporting the youth’s dynamism, innovativeness, and creativity are sure-win investments that could propel businesses in the local and national economy and redound the overall well-being of the citizenry.“ For the DOLE’s part, Conferido said that the Department is deeply committed to ensuring that the future entrants to the country’s labor market are provided with equal opportunities to decent and productive employment. To end the Secretary’s message, Conferido urged all 322 ICRC recipients to seize every opportunity presented to them by government so they could be guided on their career options, develop sound self-awareness and resilience, ability to source and evaluate useful information, and make sound decisions about learning and work. “To our young Bataaeños present here today, I urge all of you to pursue and take advantage of programs like this one. Not only will you understand the wide array of learning opportunities that are available to you; you will also discover that there is a huge labor market waiting out there for you. Explore the wide-ranging opportunities that match your skills and your inclinations. Prove to the whole world that the Philippines have competent workers and tremendous talents. Prove that Filipinos provide world-class products and services. Prove that we can learn, be up-skilled, and adapt to the demands of the changing world. We are empowered for global citizenship. Go forth and do make this country proud,” Conferido said. For the high school students from Bataan, the comprehensive study assessment has boosted their confidence because they now know where their strengths are and could further enhance in areas which they need improvement says Gold Certificate recipient Kim Janzen Obdin from Mariveles National High School. “Mas nagkaroon kami po ng mas malalim na kaalaman sa mga subjects tulad ng mathematics at english na tinuturo po nila sa amin dahil mas tutok po ang approach nito kumpara sa isang regular class. Alam ko po na ito ay makakatulong din sa amin dahil magagamit po namin ito sa darating na panahon, lalung lalo na po kapag naghanap na po kami ng trabaho. Sana po, ipagpatuloy lang ng gobyerno at ng ilang pribadong sektor ang mga programang ganito upang umangat ang antas ng kalidad ng mga nag-aaral na kabataan,” Obdin said. END/Jerry Borja
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 01:48:36 +0000