Phl gets $12.7-M grant for tourism, youth job programs

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will receive two technical assistance (TA) grants with a combined worth of $12.7 million, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as the disbursing agent.

The first TA grant worth $7 million is for the tourism sector while the $5.5-million component is for the labor sector. The Canadian government is the funding entity.

ADB Philippines country director Neeraj Jain said the focus of the $7-million grant is to fund a pilot youth job placement program and improve skills in the tourism sector.

“With the recent upsurge in the Philippine economy, this support will help match job-seekers’ skills with emerging industries to promote growth and ensure that the benefits are more inclusive and reach even more people,” Jain said.

The tourism sector holds great potential for growth, and has benefited from reforms begun in 2011 to open up Philippine airspace.

The grant will test pilot projects in Bohol, Cebu, Davao and Palawan that aim to reduce regulatory costs for tourism operators, improve hotel accreditation systems, and provide funding for skills development in the industry. The Department of Tourism (DOT) is the executing agency for the grant.

The other grant will find its way to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

It will connect vulnerable out-of-work youth to a job placement program called MyFirstJob, a pilot program that will provide high school leavers with career counseling, funding for vocational training, and workplace experience.  At least 1,600 youth – half of them women – are expected to participate in the pilot project.

The ADB noted that the country’s GDP growth of 6.6 percent last year, lifted by robust consumption and investments, was considered one of the strongest economic performances in the region. However, job creation has not kept pace.