CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Alvin Dizon is asking the Department of Manpower Development and Placement (DMDP) to collaborate with the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) in initiating programs that would help workers who were displaced by the pandemic look for new employment opportunities.
Those who have the capital should also be taught how to prepare for the operation of a business of their choice, he said.
Dizon said there is a need to equip workers with new skills and knowledge to also prepare them for the demands of work under the new normal.
He said that at least 250,000 workers from around the country including Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have already lost their employment as a result of the economic difficulties brought about by the pandemic.
“These numbers are overwhelming and would translate into serious economic suffering for our people given the uncertainties of this COVID-19 pandemic,” Dizon told CDN Digital.
As the city prepares to shift to modified enhanced community quarantine, Dizon said that there is also a need to prepare its workforce.
More businesses are expected to already resume operations under MGCQ.
He said that DMDP and Tesda should prepare short-term training programs on technical-vocational courses to especially benefit the displaced workers, both the domestic and OFWs “to help the latter develop alternative skills and competencies for potential sources of income or self-help livelihood activities during this time of serious economic uncertainties brought by this global health crisis.”
His request will be contained in a resolution which he will introduce to the City Council during their session on Wednesday, June 10.
“I, likewise, [would like to] request DMDP to formulate an economic program for displaced workers that includes [the] provision of skills, livelihood, and entrepreneurial training in the city’s transition plan under the new normal,” he said.
Dizon expressed confidence that his resolution will get the support of other council members. / dcb