In its effort to uplift the lives of as many disadvantaged Filipinos as possible, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the TESDA, Century Pacific Food, Inc. and International Labour Organization (ILO) to capacitate the internally-displaced persons (IDPs) in transitory sites through skills enhancement training in the region.

Through the MOA, the parties vowed to work together to empower and improve the quality of life of the individuals and families who are now moving forward from the devastation caused by the 2013 Zamboanga siege.

200 IDPs will benefit from this collaboration of which 60% are youth with 40% women and 40% are IDPs regardless of age and gender. First 2 batches of 50 members each will commence with their training this April while the next 100 beneficiaries will follow on May.

Funding for the training will come from the ILO, an agency dealing with labour issues, particularly international labour standards, social protection, and work opportunities.

As part of its mandate to facilitate employment to the vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens, the DSWD through the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) will conduct social preparation for the beneficiaries to prepare them for this employment opportunity.

“For now, we are yet to determine who will be included as participants of this training. Our role will be on social preparation and employment facilitation afterwards. Currently, the DSWD has an existing MOA with Century Pacific who has been our partner in providing employment opportunities for the vulnerable individuals and families,” says Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) Head Elizabeth Saavedra.

The signing of MOA marked another milestone to the department’s mission to improve the lives of its clientele. Prior to the MOA signing, there were already 380 Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries who were trained and employed in Century Pacific Food Inc. through SLP’s employment facilitation program.

The SLP is a multi-stakeholder program of the department that aims to improve the standard of living of poor households by facilitating opportunities for development and management of resources viable for micro-enterprises, community empowerment through skills training and employment facilitation.