ABOUT 83,000 out-of-school youths benefitted from the USAID Opportunity 2.0 Program for the first four years of its run.
The program, in partnership with the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) and the Education Development Center (EDC), engaged with 2,200 private sector partners comprising 45 business groups, 370 large companies, and 1,704 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The program aims to build networks in 15 cities nationwide, reach 180,000 out-of-school youths, train over 2,000 teachers, and engage 2,200 companies.
The program focuses on three key components: second-chance education, workforce readiness, and positive youth development, PBEd said on its website. It will run until next year, five years after its inception in 2020.
“I hope companies can remove the requirement for a college diploma, especially for entry-level jobs,” PBEd President Chito B. Salazar told reporters in an ambush interview in Filipino.
“[Graduates] should be evaluated based on their skill set, not necessarily having a college diploma right away,” he added. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana