The Department of Education (DepEd) recently launched the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) in three leading public schools in Metro Manila to remove severe financial and bureaucratic barriers faced by graduating Senior High School (SHS) students.
The one-stop shop is a response to the difficulties experienced by SHS Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) and Alternative Learning System (ALS) students.
They are often unable to find jobs because of the expensive and tedious process of getting pre-employment documents.
Following the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to adapt the K-12 curriculum to the demands of the industry and remove barriers to employment, DepEd brought the services of the government to schools.
“We are bringing the government closer to our learners to ensure that their transition from the classroom to the workplace is seamless and cost-free, as envisioned by President Marcos,” Secretary Sonny Angara said.
“Through these reforms and partnerships, we are transforming our graduates into highly employable assets who are ready to contribute to our nation’s growth.”
“Through these reforms and partnerships, we are transforming our graduates into highly employable assets who are ready to contribute to our nation’s growth,” Angara added.
With the help of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and other agencies, the initiative is a big help to poor families, most especially at this time of surging prices of petroleum products due to the Middle East crisis.
The documents were given for free as mandated by the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act.
The documents were given for free as mandated by the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act, at Tala National High School in Caloocan City to 488 beneficiaries; Makati High School in Barangay Poblacion to 290 beneficiaries; and at Mataas na Paaralang Neptali A. Gonzales in Mandaluyong City to 397 beneficiaries.
Apart from the documents, job matching and career guidance activities were also conducted to directly link the graduates to the vacant positions in the companies who are partners in the program.
With an estimated 550,000 SHS-TVL students who are set to graduate nationwide, the DepEd remains committed to expanding the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair to other regions to push the President’s agenda of increasing the country’s employment rate.
