By Chito Chavez
Some 1,111 residents from the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACoS), Davao del Norte were provided with job opportunities as they completed the Training for Better Access to Job Opportunities (TraBAJO) program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said the department had coordinated closely with various national government agencies, the city government of IGACoS and accredited Technical Vocational Institutes (TVIs) to provide the recipients with employment in tourism-related industries.
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año (AP Photo / Bullit Marquez / MANILA BULLETIN)
“The Island Garden of Samal is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Davao region. We are happy to receive reports that those who availed of the skills training under the TraBAJO program are now happily and gainfully employed in various establishments and are now providing better services to the local and foreign guests,” Año said.
The Island Garden of Samal is one of the beneficiaries of the TraBAJO program being administered by the DILG.
The program provides skills training to local residents on organic agriculture production, cookery, hairdressing, food and beverage services, housekeeping, front office services, bartending, driving, shielded metal arc welding, bookkeeping, and “hilot” wellness.
Año said the DILG works hand in hand with Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Prestige School of Technology Inc., Valiant Institute and Assessment Center., Mindtechs Institute of Technology, and Endonela Institute of Technology Foundation, Inc. for the TraBAJO program.
Happy TraBAJO beneficiaries
Florencio Thaddeus T. Valera, Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Manager of IGaCos personally witnessed how the TRaBAJO program enhanced the skills of their city’s workforce, brought more investment and better services, and contributed to the economic and social development for the city.
“I am a witness how TraBAJO program created a huge impact to the Samaleños. They attended the skills enhancement training, got National Certificates (NC) and are employed here and outside Samal,” Valera said.
Beneficiaries of the TraBAJO program reported how their lives and the lives of their families have been changed for the better.
“Sa una, wala koy trabaho, pero paghuman sa programa, daghan kaayog opportunities ang na abri para sa ako (Before, I didn’t have a job but after the program, vast job opportunities opened for me.),’’ Mildred Manuales a 31 year old beneficiary.
She now works as a government employee and is a certified Cookery Trainor and Assessor
To sustain the TraBAJO program, the LGU of Samal provided starter kits for the beneficiaries upon their graduation which are used to start their own business or livelihood. (Chito Chavez)