DAVAO City Councilor Bai Hundra Cassandra “Sweet” Advincula said her proposal to establish a Local Government Unit (LGU)-run assessment and skills training center is now under committee deliberation.
Advincula shared that the concept was inspired by her visit to Panabo City while serving as chairperson of the Committee on Labor in the 20th City Council.
Panabo had already institutionalized its own community skills training and development center.
“Ang goal ani nga program is to help address unemployment and underemployment na naay LGU-run na assessment center nga maka tabang ug training sa mga unemployed and underemployed (The goal of this program is to help address unemployment and underemployment by establishing an LGU-run assessment center that can provide training to the unemployed and underemployed),” she said during the Pulong-Pulong sa Dabawenyos held Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
According to Advincula, the proposed center will assist job seekers in obtaining the necessary certifications. In the long term, the city government could also tap skilled workers trained at the center for infrastructure or service projects.
She said they have started benchmarking activities in Panabo City and at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) training center in Bukidnon.
“Atoang target unta si LGU pod makahimo pod ani sa atoang area (Our goal is for the local government to also establish something like this in our area),” she said, expressing hope that the training center will be approved and established during her term.
Meanwhile, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) 2024 Annual Labor Market Statistics for Davao Region, Davao City recorded a 4.3 percent unemployment rate, or around 37,000 individuals, followed by Davao del Norte (3.9 percent), Davao Occidental (2.8 percent), Davao de Oro (2.5 percent), Davao Oriental (2.5 percent), and Davao del Sur (1 percent).
Meanwhile, Davao City registered the lowest underemployment rate in the region at 3.3 percent, while Davao de Oro had the highest at 6.2 percent.
However, Davao City also recorded the lowest employment rate at 96.1 percent, compared to Davao del Sur’s 99 percent, the highest in the region. RGP