A total of 235 members of household-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in Batangas Province are now linked to employment after their completion of the Basic Employment Skills Training (BEST) Camp from May 30 to June 2 in Kahariam Farms, Lipa City. This is under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and conducted in partnership with Batangas State University (BSU).
The BEST Camp is part of the SLP’s employment facilitation track that prepares participants to be qualified and ready for employment.
According to Dir. Leticia Diokno, regional director of DSWD Field Office IV-A, the camp is a strategy employed by the agency to provide sure employment opportunities to members of Pantawid Pamilya families.
The four-day camp provided a series of skills enhancement lectures and workshops to all participants, majority of them are high school graduates, to strengthen their capabilities to gain formal employment. Topics and activities during the camp included discussions on time management and financial literacy, personality development, professionalism and work ethics, resume writing and job interview simulation among others.
All the lectures and workshops in the activity were facilitated by the faculty of BSU.
“Binigyan namin kayo ng mga pagsasanay para masigurong lahat kayo ay magkaroon ng trabaho. Inaasahan namin na magiging kasama kayo ng pamahalaan para mas mapaunlad ang inyong mga pamilya,” said Dir. Diokno in her message to the participants during the commencement ceremony last June 2.
After the series of lectures and workshops in the first two days of the camp, all the participants were exposed in actual job screening processes conducted by the Alliance Manpower Solutions and Holistic Approach Recruitment Services, a partner manpower services agency of the DSWD.
At the end of the camp, more than 200 of the participants landed employment in various companies across the region connected to the recruitment agency.
All the participants will be provided Pre-Employment Assistance Fund worth PhP5,000 each to help fund the processing of various pre-employment documents including medical clearance and NBI clearance.
Better chances of being hired
The SLP is a social protection program of the DSWD that is implemented alongside Pantawid Pamilya to help increase the economic capacities of beneficiaries through micro-enterprise development or gainful employment.
Jose Mendoza, a resident of Brgy. Cumba in Batangas City and a participant to the said camp, shared how grateful he is for this kind of opportunity.
“Dati, kung saan saan lang ako nagtatrabaho, ngayon, may pag-asa na akong magkaroon ng maayos na trabaho. Marami akong natutunan dito at nalaman kong marami pala akong ginagawa sa paghahanap ng trabaho na mali at kailangan kong itama,” said Mendoza.
According to Dir. Diokno, the BEST Camp is designed to address the issue that many of the beneficiaries may have skills to perform various jobs but may require additional skills to strengthen their chances in passing the actual screening process. Further, the camp also prepares the beneficiaries for employment to help them stay longer and perform better once they are hired.
“Inaasahan namin na ang BEST Camp na ito ay maging magandang simula para sa inyong lahat,” said Dir. Diokno.
This BEST Camp is the first in the CALABARZON Region and is targeted to be conducted in other provinces in the region to help facilitate the employment of beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. With at least one member of Pantawid Pamilya families gainfully employed, the DSWD sees that these families will have better chances of improving their living condition and standing on their own.
To date, there are more than 320,000 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya in the region.#