DAVAO CITY—Canadian government representatives said they expressed satisfaction with preparations for a massive work skills training program for residents of an island resort off the Davao Gulf ahead of an expected influx of development projects and private investments.
The Canadian-funded project is called the Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED). Its staff went around Talikud Island, part of the resort Island Garden City of Samal, to view the progress of a component program in Talikud Island.
Project officials said employees of government agencies were expected to undertake specific activities to teach various technical and vocational skills to residents. However, they needed to survey the residents first to identify existing skills and assess their certification or levels.
The next activities would be simultaneous skills training, such as landscaping, carpentry and masonry, food and beverage, bartending, housekeeping, frontline servicing, plumbing, house wiring/electrical, mechanical, tour guiding, culinary arts, security force development, community-based assistance and boat tending.
“For those who could not meet the requirements needed for skills training, they would undergo livelihood trainings on handicraft making, food processing, gifts and housewares making, and entrepreneurship development,” a statement from the LGSP-LED said. Barangay officials from Barangay Dadatan, Cogon, Santa Cruz and Linosutan were given an orientation about the partnership between LGSP-LED, the provincial government of Davao del Norte, and national government agencies, and they were briefed about their role in the work-force development component of the project, the agency said.
The design program earmarked P6 million and expected to train residents for 1,294 jobs that were projected to be created by the end of 2016.
Team Leader and First Secretary Genevive Asselin and LGSP-LED Regional Director Susan Steffen said they were pleased “to see the residents of Talikud respond positively to the introduction of programs specifically targeting the work force of the island”.
Asselin said the work-force development would be a key component of the project “that aims to provide skills and livelihood training for residents in preparation for projected demands once investments start pouring in.”
“I am excited to see the cooperation of all of the different agencies and your political leadership to ensure that the jobs that will come from tourism are sustainable jobs, are long-term jobs, and are jobs of good quality for Talikud and the whole island,” Steffen added.