THE PHILIPPINE Business for Education partnered with six local government units to help them train their workforce for jobs of the future.

Through its JobsNext program, PBED aims to boost the Philippines’ readiness and competitiveness in the global digital operating landscape.

It tied up with the provincial government of Samar, Cagayan de Oro City, Himamaylan City in Negros Occidental and the municipalities of Irosin, Sorsogon, Arteche, Eastern Samar and Alaminos, Laguna.

“Automation and rapid digital transformation gave rise to a number of new employment opportunities. Our young workforce needs to be equipped with the right skills to take on emerging jobs and we need to invest in training our youth so that they can adapt to new ways of working and acquire the relevant skills.” PBEd Executive Director Justine Raagas said.

With the support of Citi Foundation, JobsNext provides industry-relevant and demand-driven future skills training programs to young individuals aged 18 to 25. At the end of the training, Public Employment Services Offices of partner LGUs will facilitate the matching and deployment of those who completed the training to possible job opportunities.

“The skills needed for jobs of the future will continue to evolve so it is important that we build learning environments that can keep up. This requires intensive collaboration between government, industry, and academia so we can maximize the resources and efforts that go into training our Filipino youth,” Raagas said.