CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) has taken the youth once again on a higher level by enhancing their capabilities through its “Kabataan ITo” program.
The move was made in recognition of the youth’s dynamic role in nation building through the 1973 Presidential Decree 1110, also known as the yearly commemoration of the “Working Youth Day” held every February 15.
For the week covering the said youth day, the Dole Regional Office in Central Luzon held a two-fold event that highlighted the release of P347,600 for the stipend of some 75 youth IT-mentors, as well as for the graduation rites of some 656 trainees from the disadvantaged and informal sectors of the region.
The program used a module consisting of four lessons, such as familiarization of the computer hardware; basic Microsoft (MS) office utilities such as MS Word, MS Excel and MS Powerpoint; and understanding the use of the Internet for info-research and communication.
The “Kabataan ITo” or Information Technology Opportunities of Dole seeks to establish a mentor-mentee relationship, wherein a youth knowledgeable in IT or computer programs can tutor a fellow youth, adult or any sector interested to avail of the services, especially nowadays that almost everything is powered by the computer.
This program is a response to Executive Order 788 (Promoting a Youth National Service) issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in March 2009. The order is geared towards training and enhancing the youth from the disadvantaged sectors, including out-of-school youths to become IT mentors and be employed on a part-time basis.
Secretary Marianito Roque said there is a bright future for the knowledgeable and skilled in information technology and “we would like our disadvantaged young people to have a share of this bright future through Kabataan ITo." (Jerry Borja/PR)