Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 10869)
The short title of Republic Act No. 10869 is the "JobStart Philippines Act."
The policy is to promote full employment, ensure equality of employment opportunities, and afford full protection to labor, subscribing to the ILO's Decent Work Agenda and establishing PESOs as primary institutions for active labor market programs, especially for young jobseekers.
A JobStart trainee is an eligible JobStart registrant selected to participate in the JobStart program.
To qualify, the person must be a Filipino citizen, 18 to 24 years old (17 years old may register if turning 18 by technical training), at least reached high school level, not employed/studying/training, and have no or less than one year of work experience.
The three phases are: JobStart Life Skills Training (10 days), JobStart Technical Training (up to 3 months), and JobStart Internship (up to 3 months).
A JobStart registrant is considered a trainee and not an employee of the participating employer during the training program.
The trainee must receive a daily stipend not less than 75% of the prevailing minimum wage in the city or municipality where the establishment is located.
An employer may take in JobStart trainees only up to a maximum of 20% of its total workforce.
Valid causes include habitual absenteeism, willful disobedience, theft or malicious destruction, violence or misconduct on premises, and inefficiency or poor performance after warnings.
They are entitled to a basic accident insurance paid by DOLE, reimbursement for pre-training and employment medical exams, and exemption from securing a work permit from LGUs.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) executes the program, with the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) managing it, and regional and field offices supervising implementation in their areas.
The trainee shall no longer be required to undergo a probationary period if hired by the same establishment after completing the internship and technical training according to the training plan.
Violations are subject to the general penalty in the Labor Code, and unregistered programs may face closure and administrative, civil, or criminal penalties. The DOLE Secretary may file appropriate cases for fraud or non-compliance.
LGUs, through PESOs, implement the program locally by organizing registration, selecting beneficiaries, conducting job referrals, managing finances, maintaining participant records, and submitting monitoring reports to DOLE.
PESOs use DOLE's Skills Registry System to manage records, with technical assistance from labor market analysts hired by DOLE and BLE to improve information collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination.