DBM allots P1.4 B to support youth job seekers
By JAMES A. LOYOLA
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) assured funding for the strategic programs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that aim to provide jobs to Filipino youth.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said they allocated this year P1.4 billion to support DOLE’s Government Internship Program, Special Program for Employment of Students, and Job Search Assistance.
“In our goal of attaining progress and prosperity, we believe that having a healthy, productive, and equipped workforce will play a great role,” Pangandaman said in a statement.
“That’s why President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed us to give prime importance in investing in our labor workforce, especially the youth,” she added.
Under the 2023 national budget, DOLE’s Government Internship Program has been allotted P708 million.
The program consists of three to six-month internship opportunities for high school, technical-vocational, and college graduates who want to work in the government. It targets some 12,000 beneficiaries.
To further prepare the beneficiaries as they enter the labor force, DOLE’s Employment Facilitation Program had been given a budget of P769 million.
The amount includes P585 million for the Special Program for Employment of Students.
This is DOLE’s youth employment-bridging program that provides temporary employment to poor but deserving students, out-of-school youth, and dependents of displaced or would-be displaced workers during summer and/or Christmas vacation.
Meanwhile, the agency’s Job Search Assistance program has an allotment of P108 million.
For 2023, DOLE has a total budget of P26.89 billion to increase employment opportunities and better equip the country’s labor force.
Earlier, National Economic and Development Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the unemployment rate among the youth, defined as individuals aged 15 to 24, decreased significantly from 14.2 percent in February 2022 to 9.1 percent this year.