WB FLAGS LOW SUPPORT FOR JOBLESS YOUTH

low whereas overall labor market indicators recovered to prepandemic level.

“The youth group was disproportionately a ected by the pandemic shock on the labor market, and the scarring e ect may stay long after the economic activities return,” said Ndiamé Diop, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

“While conducive business environment policies will encourage quality job creation in the private sector, more targeted approaches to address youth challenges are urgently needed,” Diop said.

The World Bank said this is just one example of the challenges faced by the labor market during the pandemic. Covid-19, the Washingtonbased lender said, reversed the country’s progress in generating jobs.

The report found that the pandemic caused high productivity employment to be lost and low-paying occupations have actually lled the void in jobs.

With the strong rebound of the economy, the World Bank said employment indicators appear to have returned to prepandemic levels, but the quality of jobs remains a concern particularly for young people.

“Active labor market programs including measures like skills training, job search assistance, wage subsidies, public works programs, and entrepreneurship promotion should be further strengthened,” Cho said.

“These can be complemented by modernizing labor regulations through simplifying labor rules and providing guidance on exible forms of work arrangement; expanding social insurance; and modernizing inspection and compliance veri cation systems through digital tools,” she added.

The report also notes the potential role of modernizing labor regulations, strengthening the management of international migration, and investing in skills in emerging green and digital sectors, to boost youth employment.

Continuing to utilize overseas employment opportunities while ensuring the welfare and safety of migrant workers remains critical, said the report.

Globally, there’s a growing emphasis on the “green economy” and the changing nature of work driven by digital technology, according to the report.

Green jobs come from activities to protect biodiversity, reduce waste and pollution, and conserve resources such as energy, materials, and water.

They can also be generated from strategies for greater energy e ciency and transitioning towards a decarbonized economy.

Digital jobs typically refer to those that use information and communications technology (ICT) including computing, Internet, and mobile phones; freelancing jobs accessed and traded through online platforms (online gig economy); jobs created by online platforms themselves (sharing economy); and digital penetration in real sector jobs especially through e-commerce. In the Philippines, the report says there are several areas where policies can enhance the country’s chances of bene ting from these trends, including operationalizing the Philippines Green Jobs Act of 2016. The law provides relevant incentives for rms engaged in green activities and generating green jobs; targeted skills development for youth incorporating green and digital skills; economic zones for green and digital job creation; and social protection for the digital workforce.

LTO caps driving school fees

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) has placed a cap on the prescribed rates of accredited private driving institutions in the country for theoretical driving (TDCs) and practical driving courses (PDCs).

Under the new guidelines, the allowed maximum prescribed rate for TDCs will be P1,000, while the maximum prescribed fees for PDCs will vary depending on the license code—P2,500 for driver’s license codes A and A1, and P4,000 for license codes B, B1, and B2.

LTO chief Assistant Secretary Jay Art Tugade said the new prescribed rates for TDCs and PDCs “will be included in the Omnibus Guidelines on the Accreditation, Supervision, and Control of Driving Institutions, and the Standardization of Driver and Conductor’s Education that will soon be issued by the agency.”

T he omnibus guidelines will also include directives on the standardization of drivers’ and conductors’ education. “ Since last year, the agency’s technical working group held a series of meetings and consultations with the different driving schools’ associations and stakeholders, which led to the prescribed maximum rates that we are going to implement,” Tugade said.

He added: “The rates were computed to make sure that driving institutions still get a fair return of investments and at the same time make it affordable to the public.”

A side from the prescribed maximum rates, accredited driving institutions will be required to hold the mandatory 15-hour TDCs in two days, with the first seven hours on the first day and the remaining eight hours on the second day.

Meanwhile, the practical driving instructions shall not be less than eight hours per driver’s license code applied for. PDC for light and heavy vehicles shall be conducted for at least two days, while eight-hour PDC for motorcycles may be conducted in one day, provided that the student-driver has proven to have already acquired the knowledge based on the assessment by a practical driving instructor,” the memorandum circular stated.

D riving institutions must also enroll the details of their clients to the LTO System using the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) Client ID to determine the starting date of the TDC amid the issue of “non-appearance” by some applicants.

Registration of his/her biometrics before and after every session for attendance purposes is required. The Driving Institution shall provide and maintain an attendance sheet to record the actual presence of the applicant during the conduct of the face-to-face TDC and written examination or validation,” the memo read.

A fter course completion and passing the final exam for TDC and at least 8 hours of PDC, the Certificate of Course Completion will be issued to the applicant and shall be electronically transmitted in real time to the LTMS through the Driving Institution Portal.