Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 27) — The country secured fresh funding from the Asian Development Bank in an effort to expand employment and skills programs for the youth amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement Tuesday, the regional lender said it approved a $400-million (about ₱20.13 billion) policy-based loan that will help the youth obtain quality jobs.
The fund will assist the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in strengthening the job facilitation capacity of Public Employment Services Offices (PESO) and labor market programs, improving development of workplace skills, and fostering a healthy work environment.
Jose Antonio Tan III, ADB director for public management, financial sector and trade for Southeast Asia, noted the urgency to help the youth find work through innovative programs and initiatives.
“This new loan reflects our long-term commitment to ensuring that young people find jobs to improve their lives and create a wider employment base for post-pandemic economic growth,” he was quoted as saying in the statement..
The loan will support reforms including the creation of a $200-million (around ₱10.06 billion) Tulong Trabaho Scholarship Fund, unemployment insurance scheme, and the First Time Jobseekers Act, said ADB.
Two loans were earlier greenlit in 2017 and 2019 which financed reforms leading to the operationalization of PESOs and establishment of DOLE’s flagship program JobStart Philippines.
“The third subprogram will also strengthen government measures to address the impact of the pandemic on youth employment,” said ADB.
The loan is expected to strengthen labor market policies and provide assistance to overseas Filipino workers who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic by means of group livelihood and entrepreneurship programs, said Stephen Schuster, ADB principal financial sector specialist for Southeast Asia.
There are 1.11 million unemployed youth in the country as of May, according to Philippine Statistics Authority data. Some 6.6 million youth, meanwhile, have jobs while around 659,000 are underemployed. In sum, 7.72 million comprise the country’s youth labor force.
