TRENTO, Agusan del Sur – The Provincial Public Employment Service Office (PESO) of Agusan del Sur, in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Caraga  spearheaded the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Hiromoca Corporation as partner employer of the Provincial PESO of Agusan del Sur and DOLE Caraga for JobStart Philippines Program roll-out in which training completed last December 2022.

The MOA signing was conducted at Barangay Pulang-Lupa, this municipality. Mr. Escolastico R. Hitgano Jr., the proprietor, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity opened by the program.

Since the Jobstart trainees completed the first training phase, they continued with the Technical Training and Internship. Trainees were placed in-house with a partner employer for technology-based theoretical instruction for a maximum of three months for lectures, performed hands-on exercises in a laboratory or a workshop within the premises, and applied their practical learnings in a regular work environment under mentorship for a maximum of three months. 

Trainees  received stipends of three hundred pesos (PhP300) per day, two hundred pesos (PhP200) worth of communication allowance during their technical training, and a National Certificate II before proceeding to an internship. 

Partner employer provided 75% of the prevailing minimum wage during the internship of the trainees. They may absorbed the trainees to wage employment after the training. 

The technical training and internship started on September 1, 2022 and ended on  December 30, 2022. Twenty trainees were identified in the food and beverage services. The remaining 20 trainees were assigned in housekeeping services.

JobStart Program is a full-cycle employment facilitation service that shortens the youth’s school-to-work transition. It enhances the knowledge and skills acquired in formal education, providing the youth with a conducive and safe work environment where they can learn and apply relevant theories and develop a strong work ethic through the program’s technical training and internship phases. It is also a venue for partner employers where they can customize the process of technical training through employer-driven training plans, select well-equipped trainees, and have another opportunity to contribute to society through corporate social responsibility. (DOLE-Agusan del Sur/PIA-Agusan del Sur)