GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 20 Dec) – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has rolled out 12 more new personal computer (PC) sets to selected local government units (LGUs) in Region 12 to facilitate the implementation of its enhanced skills registry system (SRS).
Chona Mantilla, Dole Region 12 director, said the computer sets were earlier allotted by the agency’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) for the third wave of implementation of the computerized SRS in the region.
Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Cotabato and Kidapawan.
Mantilla said the beneficiaries of the 12 computers are the municipalities of Kiamba, Malungon and Maitum in Sarangani Province; Columbio and Kalamansig in Sultan Kudarat; Tboli, Tampakan and Surallah in South Cotabato; and, Mlang, Magpet, Kabacan and Pigcawayan in North Cotabato.
She said the recipient-LGUs and their local chief executives had signed a memorandum of undertaking with DOLE for the implementation of the program, which would be handled by their public employment service offices (PESO).
SRS, which is a key component of DOLE’s generation program, is a repository of manpower information that is used by the agency in circulating job opportunities within a specific area or locality when demands arise and become available.
A DOLE briefer said the registry features a roster of active manpower supply that shows information on the qualifications and skills of registrants that were either acquired in school or gained through experience.
The skills registry may be readily accessed by employers through the Phil-Jobnet website, which serves as the government’s main job portal. During the second SRS national validation held in Cebu City in September, Mantilla said DOLE-BLE chief Ma. Criselda Sy cited the need for the immediate release of the computer sets for the use of the SRS.
“We intend to immediately capture the labor market information of the recipient-LGUs through these computers,” she said.
Jimelito Marquez, DOLE 12’s Technical Support Services Division head, said they are currently working for the full rollout of the SRS from the municipal and city levels down to the 1,194 barangays in the region.
He said the move was aimed at providing residents with greater access to various employment opportunities and other related government programs.
Marquez said it is also part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to address the region’s employment concerns, among them the rising underemployment and the mismatch of available manpower with the requirements of local industries.
“Mainstreaming the SRS at the barangay level will increase the level of opportunities for our jobseekers,” he said. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)