PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed into law Thursday a priority bill seeking to boost apprenticeship programs and better align them with industry needs.
The proposed Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act provides incentives for employers offering apprenticeship programs to prospective members of the workforce.
It also covers workers who want to engage in upskilling to support career progression.
“By establishing a framework on career advancement and industry-relevant skills, this law directly addresses the issues (like) the lack of formal training and skills mismatches,” Mr. Marcos said in a speech at the signing ceremony.
He said many livelihood programs at the national and local levels have been inadequate in terms of landing jobs for participants.
“That is why it is very important to synchronize our skills training with the actual requirements of industry and the labor market.”
Workers eligible for the EBET program are those who are either newly employed or established workers who want to acquire new skills.
Under the law, enterprises should give their trainees allowances not lower than 75% of the applicable minimum wage.
In programs exceeding one year, the apprentice is entitled to a yearly increase in line with labor market wage rates in the sector, and subject to evaluation of performance.
Training hours are not to exceed eight hours per day.
A trainee required to work overtime not exceeding two hours a day is to be paid an additional 25% of the hourly allowance for every hour of extra work.
Workers undergoing upskilling training are entitled overtime pay and a night shift differential, if applicable.
“We are hopeful that the law can effectively address these issues so we can prepare our workers for the demands of the local and foreign market, and assist them in finding new or additional employment so they can help their families,” Speaker Martin G. Romualdez, who witnessed the signing, said in a statement.
EBET program graduates will enjoy hiring preference in the company implementing the program and will not need to undergo probation.
EBET trainees are eligible to tap the Tulong Trabaho Fund, a component of Republic Act No. 11230 or the Tulong Trabaho Law.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in September from 4% in August and 4.5% a year earlier. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
