The Asian Development Bank supported the Senior High School Support Program of the Philippines’ Department of Education. The broad reform program included curriculum development, teacher training, and one of the world’s largest tuition voucher schemes. The program also piloted a culture-based curriculum that teaches indigenous youth to manage their community's resources and cultural heritage sustainably. The pilot was implemented by the Tboli Sbu Senior High School in South Cotabato in southern Philippines.

The school offers courses in ecotourism and livelihood management, where culture-bearers and elders teach students how to weave the Tnalak, a dyed abaca cloth that is unique to the Tboli indigenous peoples. Students also learn brass casting, embroidery, and wood carving. The program attracted young mothers and out-of-school youth back to school. The curriculum of the pioneering program was guided by indigenous elders, community stakeholders, and the local government. Ateneo de Davao University also helped develop the curriculum and teacher training, in a prime example of a successful public-private partnership in education. The success of the Tboli Sbu Senior High School in implementing the culture-based curriculum is set to be replicated in other schools for indigenous peoples in other parts of the country.

Transcript

Since 2014, the government’s JobStart Philippines program has been helping young Filipinos to find work through technical and life skills training, and paid internships with private sector employers.

More than 20,000 youth have taken the program, most of them women.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has severely hurt job opportunities for young people.

The pandemic also made it difficult for Public Employment Service Offices nationwide to perform JobStart activities.  

Only Tagum City in southern Philippines pushed through with the program in 2020, enlisting 37 trainees.

Rogeneth Llanos, City Department Head, PESO Tagum:

The JobStart trainees were accommodated and provided with the opportunity to improve their competencies by engaging them in the real world environment in order for them to become employable.

The Department of Labor and Employment saw the urgency to continue JobStart training so young people can find jobs and remain resilient amid the pandemic.

With ADB funding, a chatbot for enlisting to JobStart and processing applications was launched in November 2020.

A Youth Employment Exchange website was created to link private businesses with JobStart trainees for virtual engagement and technical training.

The Life Skills Training program was improved and expanded to become an online course.

Mea Pagayon, 2021 JobStart  Iloilo City: 
It’s not easy to find a job, especially in this time of the pandemic.
So when I saw this program, I grabbed it.

The modules were enhanced to include mental health skills, digital literacy, health and safety awareness, and women empowerment.

Crystal Mae Dela Cruz, 2021 JobStart Manolo Fortich:

In joining JobStart, I am hoping to get a better idea of what to do and not do in an actual work environment. I also want to get a training certificate, especially since most companies now require work experience in recruitment.

Mea Pagayon, 2021 Jobstarter:

“I hope they will be able to help more young people like me, those who have less opportunity, those who are less-privileged.”

In July 2021, ADB approved a $400 million loan to support the government’s efforts to find employment for young Filipinos.

With the help of ADB, JobStart will continue to support young Filipinos improve their lives and forge a brighter future.

Mea Pagayon, 2021 JobStarter:

“I can say that I can now find a job with the help of this training.”