Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Over 1T residents in Visayas benefit from training project
AFTER the trade department rolled out two months ago a program to help residents in “cleared conflict areas,” about 1,200 people in the Visayas have already started reaping the benefits of the program.
Jenifer Cruz, past president of the Cebu-Gifts, Toys and Houseware (GTH) Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the early recipients of the Sub-contracting Partners for Innovation Network (Spin) have already started earning from the sale of products they made under the training program.
The Spin program is spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry 7 (DTI) upon a directive from President Gloria Arroyo.
Initially, raw materials used by program beneficiaries were subsidized by Cebu-GTH, but some groups have already become efficient and can sustain on their own as sub-contractors for the industry.
Cruz cited a group from Inabanga, Bohol, which has received an initial order of P2 million-worth of products.
However, he said that there are other groups that still need followup training since their output do not pass the standards of the industry.
“Continuous training will still be given to them,” he said, adding that in some areas, like Siaton (Oriental Negros), residents who were trained under the program are the ones training other members of their community.
Cruz observed that in a month, GTH companies will be able to place orders with that group as well.
In Cebu, some residents in Tuburan underwent training last week. Balamban residents started on their training yesterday.
Tomorrow, the Spin team will go to Carmen, Bohol. “The schedule (for trainings) is hectic,” Cruz said.
Since the program is still in its early stages, Cruz admitted that it is still hard to gauge how successful it is. But the Cebu-GTH will continue supporting the program as it will formalize its adoption of the Spin program through the signing of a memorandum of agreement with DTI next week in Bohol. (DME)
