Davao City – The Department of Labor and Employment XI (DOLE) and the Davao City Public Employment Service Office (PESO) together with local employers signed on Monday at Pinnacle Hotel, the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the first implementation of JobStart Philippines in the region.

The MoA signing was headed by DOLE XI Regional Director Joffrey M. Suyao and Davao PESO manager Philip Nidea.

Jobstart Philippines is a DOLE implemented project through its local PESO offices that aims to offers trainings and internship programs for fresh graduates in the region.

Those who will be selected will undergo ten days of life skills training, up to three months of JobStart-funded technical training and another three months of work experience with a “matched” employer/establishment. The interns in return will be receiving at least 75% of the minimum wage in the relevant city/municipality.

The project is a project jointly funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of Canada.

After a year of preparation for the pilot cities in the region namely Davao City and Tagum City, Director Suyao, in his message, said that the Department is “very excited” for the actual implementation of the said project.

“We are very hopeful that this full cycle of employment facilitation here in Davao Region through the JobStart Philippines will be very successful such that by succeeding years we will be expanding our implementation not only in Davao and Tagum but in all other cities and municipalities in the region,” he said adding his words of thanks to the local employers for their participation and commitment to the program.

Davao City companies who participated the JobStart Project include: ALU Hotel, BPI, RDL Group of companies (Total of 3 establishments: Resort, Pharmaceutical, LDL), Sky Cable, HKR Equipment, LYR Marketing, Pizza Hut, Chevrolet, 6/11 Global Services, Jollibee, Asia Brewery, Toyota, and JWM Eggs.

Registration will start on April 11 to 13 at NCCC Mall and the life skills training will be on April 18 to 29.

Another JobStart Project MoA signing will be held in Tagum City on Wednesday, April 6, 2016.

Kriztja Marae G. Labrador/LCO-DOLEXI