By Rene V. Carbayas
ISABELA CITY, Basilan – More
than jobs and handling labor disputes, the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE) in Isabela City is enabling the workforce towards decent jobs - jobs
that do not only provide for the economic needs of the individual, which may be
temporary, but jobs that would bring dignity to the work force and sustain life
as a whole.
DOLE marked its eighty years of bringing services
to the Filipino people last year, 2013. For a human being, eighty years spell
maturity and a lot of rich experiences to reminisce. This is the year of
“counting the blessings” and “throwback days,” reflecting on what has been
one’s worth of existence.
On a reflective mood, segments or periods in
life would re-appear in memory and reliving the past in playback as one watches
at a distance an illusion, reviewing every detail of that moment.
Flashes of good memories, of accomplishments,
and of life-changing moments reveal it once again. Perhaps, as the eye of
memory moves across the country, every legacy revealed paints a smile on the
face that signifies satisfaction of an 80-year-old.
The establishment of the field office of the
labor department in Isabela City is one of those segments of memory that could
have given joy to DOLE. Under the current leadership of Engr. Wesley Tan, the
new DOLE chief in Isabela City, the young field office is already making new
memories for the department to be proud of.
As DOLE turned 80 in 2013, the labor field
office bannered its accomplishments. The activities accomplished reveal their
holistic approach to labor issues and concerns. From a mere adjudicator of
labor disputes in the past, the functions and mandate of the new DOLE has
evolved into a labor-enabling and life-changing entity that aims to provide
decent jobs for Filipinos.
More funds were allotted by the national
government as manifested by the number of Kabuhayan
Starter Kits that have been released to hundreds of informal sector
beneficiaries. It is a livelihood program that enables poor and long term
unemployed out-of-school youth, women, parents of child laborers, Indigenous
People, physically and or occupationally disabled, urban poor, elderly persons,
landless and displaced workers, among others to start quickly a livelihood
undertaking. It also provides livelihood formation for workers in the informal
economy.
More than P1.2-million worth of starter kits
has been released to about 200 beneficiaries in 2013 alone. To ensure success
rate, DOLE said that an association of workers are organized for the mutual protection
of its members or for any legitimate purpose in order for them to acquire legal
personality other than the collective bargaining.
Since 2008 when the DOLE established the
field office in Isabela, the office has strived to be more relevant by reaching
out to the labor force and the labor market. It has strengthened its network
and built alliances and partnerships with the business, academe, non-government
organizations and government sectors with the realization of the value of
convergence in providing help to the sector in need.
DOLE reaches out through Career Advocacies
and Labor Market Information for graduating high school students and conducted
Career Employment Coaching to students from tertiary schools. The expanded
Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES), which was usually
implemented only during summer, is now year-round program to help deserving
college students cope with school financial needs. Through the Workers
Organization Development Program (WODP), the labor department in the city also
provides full scholarship of a four or five-year course or vocational or
technical courses to legitimate dependents of officers and members of
legitimate labor or workers organization under the Isabelo Delos Reyes
Scholarship Grant.
Moreover, ordinary skilled workers and young
laborers could level up through enrichment seminars and training programs
implemented in partnership with the Technical Education Skills and Development
Authority (TESDA). Completing these programs and passing the competency
examinations, the graduate is given certificates of completion with National
Competency certificates that may serve as their tickets to more job
opportunities here and abroad.
Parallel to this is the implementation of the
Skills Registry System (SRS) in partnership with the local government units, a
skills registration that hopes to improve the databank of manpower supply and
demand with corresponding skills and qualifications for ready access to
employment service clients. When this will be fully accomplished, this databank
will become the reference for employers through linking the data to the PhilJobNet and for schools to determine
which labor and skills requirement is demanded by the market so that schools
can align their academic program according to the demands of the labor market,
and thereby making the schools more relevant and more prospects for graduates
to be employed eventually.
On the Barangay level, this databank will
help determine the trade available and what particular needs further assistance
for enhancement and development of their skills for better employability.
DOLE believes that there are a lot of skilled
workers out there who acquired their skills from experience and have become
experts in their own right. Unfortunately, most employment service clients
requires documentary requirements like diploma or certificates that would
legitimize his/her skills and talents. It may not be for long, with the
registry system and the esteemed collaborative efforts of stakeholders, chances
are better prospects for the city.
Just about five years, the very young labor
field office in Isabela City is making its presence felt. The dedication of the
labor team, who most of them are from neighboring Zamboanga City, is unparalleled,
and their commitment is unconditional—for the mission is clear that it is more
than jobs, it is enabling the labor force towards decent jobs. (PIA9)