THE Department of Education (DepEd) has partnered with the Jollibee Group to co-develop a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Senior High School (SHS) curriculum that will prepare students for careers in the food service industry.
In a statement, Jollibee Group Philippines Chief Human Resources Officer Ruth Angeles said the curriculum will include a classroom-based instruction with immersive on-the-job training across Jollibee Group brands that will equip students with key restaurant operations skills such as food preparation, customer service, safety and sanitation, and business communication.
Angeles said the work immersion component of the QSR curriculum will begin in School Year 2026-2027.
“We believe in creating more pathways for young Filipinos to achieve meaningful employment. By investing in their skills early on, we also help raise the standards of service in the QSR sector,” she said.
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara welcomed the collaboration, which shows the strong example of how public-private cooperation can bring industry-relevant learning into the classroom.
“At a time when AI and tech disruption are reshaping industries and jobs, this collaboration gives our learners not only the right skills but also the resilience to thrive,” he said.
Under the partnership, the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) also committed to construct 50 classrooms by 2028 to help address the country’s classroom backlog.
This initiative will begin with the building of six classrooms in the provinces of Mindoro, Cebu, and Sarangani.
“Our vision is to help create learning spaces where every child, teacher, and community member can experience the joy and power of education. By investing in both programs and physical infrastructure, we contribute to a more empowered and resilient generation of learners,” said Gisela Tiongson, president of JGF.
Angara said this commitment of one of the world’s fastest-growing restaurant companies, also shows how the partnership invests in both knowledge and space, ensuring that more Filipino students are equipped for the future of work.
Meanwhile, the DepEd, along with Hope Foundation and several leading local brands also rolled out Generation Hope program in a bid to address the country’s classroom shortage.
The collaboration brings together BDO, SM, Penshoppe, Grab, Aivee, Carmen’s Best, and Sunnies, with proceeds from their products and services helping fund new classrooms nationwide.
“Sa tulong ng Hope at ng ating mga private partners, nais naming patunayan na kapag nagkaisa ang pribado at pampublikong sektor, mas mabilis nating matutupad ang pangarap na walang batang naiwan sa edukasyon,” Angara said.
(With the help of Hope and our private partners, we want to prove that when the private and public sectors unite, we can achieve the dream of leaving no child behind in education more quickly.)
“Let us keep planting these seeds of hope in every space where a child dares to dream. Because in Bagong Pilipinas, hope is not something we wait for but rather something we build together,” he added.
Since 2012, the Hope has built 144 classrooms that have benefited more than 52,000 students across the country.
Each Hope classroom is a 7-by-9 meter structure designed to withstand harsh weather conditions. It comes equipped with a chalkboard, a teacher’s table, wall fans, big windows for ventilation, a cathedral-style ceiling for cooler airflow, and a toilet to provide students and teachers with a safe and functional learning space.
In his State of the Nation Address in July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed to work double time for the construction of 40,000 classrooms before his term ends in 2028.
He sought the help of the private sector, as well as the Congress in order to achieve this goal.
Angara earlier said the country is lacking around 165,000 classrooms which require schools to implement shifting of classes or hybrid learning arrangements in order to accommodate the students.
He said it will take around 30 years in order to address the classroom shortage in the country given the current budget for the education sector.
Other education officials, however, said it will take up 55 years to completely eliminate the classroom construction backlogs.
Over the past three years of the administration, 22,000 classrooms have already been built. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)