SENATOR Joel Villanueva filed a measure that seeks to provide a revised National Apprenticeship Program.

Senate Bill 2354 aims to clarify the standards for training and engagement of apprentices and accreditation of apprenticeship programs.

The bill will also repeal Chapters 1 and 2 of Presidential Decree 442 or the Labor Code of the Philippines.

“The importance of the youth in our country’s development has been further emphasized when the government integrated the Sustainable Development Goals in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022,” he said in his explanatory note.

The senator explained that among the subgoals of the SDG Target 8 are the substantial reduction of the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training and the development and operationalization of a global strategy for youth employment.

“To assist the youth in workforce, the government has allocated a total of P1.401 billion for 2023 under the Department of Labor and Employment’s programs such as Government Internship Program, Special Program for Employment of Students and Job Search Assistance,” he added.

Despite this, youth unemployment is still rising.

The bill aims to close the gap between youth unemployment and entry-level jobs in the skills industry by strengthening the current apprenticeship program.

The bill provides guidelines for apprenticeable occupations, apprenticeship schemes, training, qualification of apprenticeship programs and remedial process in case of violation of apprenticeship contract.