USAID partners with QC LGU, launch program for out-of-school youth

From the Philippine Information Agency (Oct 9, 2020): USAID partners with QC LGU, launch program for out-of-school youth (By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan)

CALOOCAN CITY, Oct. 8 (PIA) -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Thursday morning partnered with the Quezon City Government to launch the USAID Opportunity 2.0, a five-year program for out-of-school and unemployed Filipino youth.

“From out-of-school youth, they are now outstanding youth and leaders because their own communities came together to give them new opportunities in life,” USAID Office of Education Director Dr. Thomas LeBlanc said in describing their previous work with the "vulnerable" out-of-school youth, the initial results of the P1.2-billion development program, part of the US-Philippines bilateral agreement to support and improve education outcomes.

“Of the youth we worked with, 6,000 have new, or improved employments, and 70 percent had a more positive view of themselves and their communities,” LeBlanc said, detailing some of the program’s transformational gains after implementing it in other parts of the Philippines.

The development project aims to strengthen education and workforce development systems to reach over 180,000 out-of-school Filipino youth across the country.

“I am very excited that we are finally launching the program in the City of Stars—Quezon City, led by the champion of the youth, Mayor Joy Belmonte. We are proud to be working with you as USAID’s instrumental partners in youth development,” he added.

For her part, Belmonte welcomed the education program and thanked the proponents and other partners for sharing among their young residents the opportunity to participate in life skills and vocational skills training, alternative learning, community engagement activities, in productive livelihood and employment. Mayor Joy was joined by Vice-Mayor Gian Sotto, a number of city councilors, and other local government officials.

Meanwhile, Global non-profit organization Education Development Center will be implementing the program alongside the Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), various local government units and other stakeholders from the private sector.

LeBlanc estimates that in in the Philippines, more than half the population, about 50-million, is under 24 years of age.

“In Quezon City alone, with the population of around 3-million people, over 600,000 are between 15 and 24 years old, and around 10 percent of this number, is estimated to be out-of-school, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority,” he said.

“In order to recover, and then accelerate, and sustain inclusive growth in the city, and in the country, we need to maximize the potential of this untapped population. This is both a challenge and wonderful opportunity,” he added.

"Working together, we were able to empower the youth to start believing in themselves and in their ability to do better, and their community saw that positive change, as well. At the end of six years, we were able to reach 25,000 out-of-school youth in some of the most challenging areas of the Philippines," he further said. (PIA NCR)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1055510