THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), with fifteen other signatory-agencies of the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act Inter-Agency Monitoring Committee (FTJAA IAMC), formally signed the FTJAA Joint Operational Guidelines (JOG) in a ceremony held on 12 May 2023 at the Kingsford Hotel Manila, Parañaque City.
The Joint Operational Guidelines shall institutionalize the procedures for all implementers and the issuance of pre-employment documents for the first time jobseekers as provided under the Republic Act No. 11261 or the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act.
In his keynote speech, DOLE Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma underscored the prime importance of the FTJAA JOG, that is to ease the financial burden of the first time jobseekers, “Isa ito sa mga pangarap namin sa Kagawaran — ang mabawasan ang pasanin ng mga ‘first time jobseeker’ sa paghahanap ng trabaho.” Further, he recognizes the importance of every member of the FTJAA IAMC, “[K]aakibat ng DOLE sa FTJAA ang kabuuan ng Inter-Agency Monitoring Committee na binubuo ng 25 ahensiyang handang maglingkod sa ating mga kababayan.”
Providing the opening remarks, Undersecretary Carmela I. Torres shared the collective goal of servicing all potential availees, “It is our goal to assist the 1.2 million potential graduates annually who are seeking employment by continuously engaging with the relevant stakeholders and push forward our collaboration with other government and development partners to realize our envisioned economic transformation for a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society.”
