SKILLS training for out-of-school youths,
those 15 to 24 years old, is continuing at Notre Dame University (NDU) in
Cotabato City with enrollment still ongoing for the next scheduled courses.
Courses offered for the trainees are bread
and pastry baking, food processing, housekeeping, automotive, computer system
servicing, and electrical installation.
A minimum requirement of 15 students must be
enrolled to begin the regular classes. Electrical Installation has begun
training as of January, but Program Head Joseph P. Fernandez of the Office of
Social Development reassured that “it is not too late to catch up.”
The Skills Training for Out-of-School Youths
is a program that offers courses open for all genders and persons with
disabilitiesin Cotabato City, so long as they are able to cope with the
requirements.
Many working students and professionals
enroll for the courses either to upgrade their skills or as a requirement from
their company. Partner industries like Em Manor and Al-Nor host the on-the-job training
or OJT of some of the offered courses.
All paid courses offered have an average of
P3,000 to P4,000 peso fee plus P500 for the assessment process.
The basic requirements are birth certificate
and barangayclearance, ensuring that the
youth is a bona-fide resident of the barangay where one resides. If interested,
inquire at the Office for Social Development for other course
requirements.
Meanwhile, sponsorship programs are pending
approval. Once consented, NDU will open up first-come, first-serve slots to
youths meeting the same qualifications mentioned.
Program head Fernandez stated that the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority will hopefully approve of its
coupons around February or March this year.
NDU had visited different barangays in
Cotabato to raise awareness among the youths regarding the program offering for
them. “Tok’hang” kids may be signed up for the training as a program by their
barangays to assist in their rehabilitation from their past with illegal drugs.
Another skills training program hosted by NDU
last year was MYDev or Mindanao Youth Development, a scholarship grant
sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development. It ended in
July 2017, but has since been requested for an extension.
Graduates of MYDev have been offered jobs
from the partner establishments of the program following graduation. On pastry
course that year, out of the 414 enrollees, 350 students from 14 classes
graduated.
Graduates of housekeeping are offered jobs by
partner industries like the Em Manor and Al-Nor. Food processing graduates have
mostly been hired by fast food chains such as Jollibee. Other course finishers were offered
jobs by private entities.
MYDev sponsored 25-30 youths to enroll to a
class, unlike the minimum 15 of a regular class.
Once contracts are settled, MYDev will start
enrollment around February this year. Unlike the Skills Training Program
offered for Cotabateños only, MYDev allows any youth from across Mindanao to
enroll, with the same basic requirements. (JUWAIRIYAH BINT
EMRAN MOHAMAD, NDU BA-COM 3 – MINDANAO EXPOSE’)
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