ILO and DTI accelerate digital entrepreneurship trainings for 2023

The ILO and DTI will accelerate digital entrepreneurship training for increased productivity, improved safety of small and informal enterprises across the Philippines under the Bringing Back Jobs Safely Project funded by the Government of Japan.

News | Manila, Philippines | 05 December 2022
DTI-ILO MoU signing on 04 October 2022 (L-R): Japanese Labor Attaché to the Philippines, First Secretary Chihiro Kanno, ILO Chief Technical Advisor Tonilyn Lim, ILO Mr. Jayson Umaguing, Embassy of Japan Minister Masahiro Nakata, ILO Enterprise Development Specialist Hideki Kagohashi, ILO Country Director Khalid Hassan, DTI-Regional Operations Group Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona, DTI-BSMED OIC Director Emma Asusano, DTI-BSMED Division Chief Edwin Pasahol, and DTI-BSMED Assistant Division Chief Michelle Maramag.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) roll out digital entrepreneurship and productivity trainings across all regions in the country through the DTI’s field offices.

The two agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on the project in August this year, ensuring that at least 20,000 micro, small and informal business will have access to additional trainings that will enable them to digitalize their businesses during the start-up and implementation phases.

“The DTI’s intervention through the ILO’s flagship programme, Safety + Health for All, offers a tailored set of assistance addressing the immediate and long-term safety and health needs of constituents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona of the DTI Regional Operations Group (ROG).

The trainings for MSMEs include the Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB), Financial Education, Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE), and the Work Improvements in Small Enterprises (WISE) for COVID Plus.

“Digitalization of MSMEs will boost productivity and protect workers from risks of face-to-face transactions,” said Director Khalid Hassan of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines. In his first state of the nation address, President Marcos also identified inclusive digital transformation and continued support for MSMEs as part of his immediate priorities and six-year agenda.

DTI-ILO Mid-Term Strategic Planning Meeting between DTI offices for the conduct of the DTI-ILO training activities held on 30 September 2022: (L-R, 2nd row) TESDA Senior TESD Specialist Evangeline Oania, TESDA Senior TESD Specialist Carla Di Salvo, TESDA Division Chief Rea M. Dalumpines, TESDA Supervising TESD Stephen Cezar, TESDA Supervising TESD Specialist Alfonso P. Francisco, DTI-BSMED Division Chief Edwin Pasahol, DTI E-Commerce Junior Researcher Cristy Lou B. Olboc and Ms. Jam Franco, DTI-BSMED Trade-Industry Development Specialist Ricel Carbinilla, DTI-BSMED Trade-Industry Development Specialist Karl Vargas. (L-R, 1st row) TESDA Executive Director Juliet Orozco, ILO Chief Technical Advisor Tonilyn Lim, TESDA OIC -Executive Director Charlyn B. Justimbaste, DTI-BSMED OIC Director Emma Asusano, PTTC OIC-Chief Guia Dionido.
The ILO is providing the trainings through the Japan-funded project Bringing Back Jobs Safely Under the COVID-19 Crisis in the Philippines: Rebooting Small and Informal Businesses Safely and Digitally, taking from global programmes and adapting them to local country context.

“It is a privilege to work closely with the ILO on such an important venture. The project is a crucial contributor to achieving a robust and sustainable economic recovery for the Philippines from this global crisis. We envision that this will lead to being resilient to the impacts of potential future pandemics and emerge stronger and better,” said Japanese Minister Masahiro Nakata of the Embassy of Japan in Manila.

The ILO project aims to develop a cadre of local trainers in the Philippines, targeting 200 for SIYB, 60 for Financial Education, 20 for SCORE and 200 for WISE for COVID Plus. Once certified, the trainers can continue to adapt the programmes to suit the changing needs of target enterprises and continue to run the training beyond the project’s life.

The project is implemented in the Philippines as part of the ILO’s Safety + Health for All Flagship Programme to improve the safety and health of workers globally.

For more information on ILO’s training opportunities, for both trainers and enterprises, please check the BBJS project website or get in touch with the SCORE and WISE and SIYB and Financial Education Project Coordinators.