Y4 Progress Reports (October 2021 - September 2022)
The fourth year of YouthWorks Philippines (YWPH) project proved to be an opportunity to fully roll out its intended strategies and plans as the effects and restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic continued to de-escalate especially in project areas. Despite the challenges of the new normal, YWPH continued to engage stakeholders in the private and public sector to participate in improving employment prospects for youth not in education, employment or training (NEET). To sustain the projectʼs momentum, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided additional funding as part of the cooperative agreement to extend the project for another three years.
This Annual Progress Report focuses on the programmatic and financial performance of YWPH in Year 4. It also discusses how the project was able to manage risks and take advantage of opportunities.
The project continued its progress through implementation of adaptive recruitment strategies, flexible training programs, direct employment scheme for resilient industries and companies with immediate hiring needs and brand development for project sustainability. The project was able to produce significant accomplishments for Year 4 in support of its objectives. These include the following:
825 training positions committed by 18 new partner companies;
13 new strategic partnerships forged;
4 mentors engaged for the FTW program;
1,157 trainees placed in the FTW program, 655 are mid-program completers (MPCs) and 417 were transitioned to OJT or in-company training;
329 trainees who graduated from the FTW program and 153 were absorbed for employment by partner companies;
1,345,530 stakeholders reached by the IEC materials produced by the project; and
PhP 32,900,669.23 leverage from project partners which brought the total to PhP 200,686,577.19.
Aside from the aforementioned accomplishments, the project also made significant impacts to improve the enabling environment of workforce development through policy and advocacy efforts, both at the local and national levels, by:
Instituting 2 GIA Council resolutions in Zamboanga: (1) Resolution to Institutionalize the Public Employment Services Office (PESO) under the Office of the City Mayor by supporting the passage of the proposed Ordinance No. 2019-31; (2) Resolution to Request from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to Disaggregate Data on Labor Market Demand and Skills Inventory for Zamboanga City.
Garnering support in reviewing, refining and finalizing provisions of local ordinance on employment in CDO through a Technical Working Group that meets weekly.
Environmental scoping of bills that the project will support.
To help improve the projectʼs physical and financial performance, this report contains recommendations that include further strengthening communication efforts in every stage of the FTW program, prioritizing partner companies with medium to high absorptive capacity, increasing the conduct of community-based recruitment activities (i.e. YWPH Admissions Day), strengthening private sector engagement in project sites and improving internal processes and strategies.