PRESS RELEASE
August 17, 2008
Office of Caloocan City Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri
Ref. Public Information Office
Telefax 3244644
Unemployed residents who are 15 years old and above can now apply
for apprenticeship with any participating company in the city and be
entitled to receive wage not less than 75 percent of the prevailing
minimum wage, Caloocan City Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri yesterday
announced.
According to Echiverri, the “Kasanayan at Hanapbuhay or KasH
Program” is an apprenticeship and employment program in partnership
with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that speeds up the matching of jobseekers with available jobs.
“KasH was created in order to provide new applicants to the labor force the opportunity to acquire basic skills, gain work experience and earn some money at the same time,” he said.
Echiverri added that the city’s Public Employment Services Office (PESO) and the Labor and Industrial Relations Office (LIRO) estimate some 3,500 residents would benefit from the program.
Moreover, at least 50 private companies are expected to participate
and provide additional benefits to apprentices such as security and
health benefits including overtime pay.
And to make enterprises better understand the advantages of the
program, the mayor said the city will be conducting a symposium on
August 22 at the Tasashah College, Zabarte Road in Caloocan North.
For his part, LIRO chief Dante Esteban said private companies all
over the city are usually always eager to participate in KasH because
the program allows them to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility by contributing to the development of the city’s human resources.
Aside from this, Esteban maintained that the program also provides
additional incentives to these companies including an additional
deduction from taxable income of one-half of the value of labor
training expenses incurred for “developing the productivity and
efficiency of apprentices”.