Tourism-related skills training

Skills Development and Placement Opportunities for Tourism in Cebu (SPOT Cebu) Trainees’ Orientation

The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Provincial Government of Cebu (PGC) and the St Jude Foundation (SJF), and with funding from the Government of Japan and the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC), trained 350 individuals (275 women, 75 men) in various tourism-related skills (beauty care, cookery, and tour guiding).

Trainees from the Municipality of Borbon, Northern Cebu fill in their Social Security System (SSS) forms during an orientation held on 18 March 2015 while Mr Richel Daluz and Mr Siemon Remata, ILO Cebu staff members, look on (@ILO/2015).
The trainees were the among the poorest residents of Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)- devastated Municipalities of Tabogon, Tabuelan, Tuburan, Sogod, and Borbon. Tourism was one of the economic sectors of Northern Cebu most adversely affected by the storm. SPOT Cebu was an innovative training development programme developed by the ILO in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The trainees received allowances equivalent to the then-prevailing minimum wage rate, social security protection, health and accident insurance, and personal protective equipment (PPE). The also received assistance in taking the National Certification (NC) examination administered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA.

On 18 March 2015, the ILO conducted an orientation with selected trainees in Borben, Northern Cebu. They were briefed on details of the sub-project as well as on the specifics of their inclusion in Social Security System (SSS) and Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) coverage.