On her State of the Province Address, Governor Imee Marcos announced the establishment of Task Force Trabaho(TFT) which aims to provide job information and assistance to students, employers and potential entrepreneurs in one office, one website, one bus that will visit every barangay.
Governor Marcos called on the Province’s partners in business, the Philippine and Chinese Chambers of Commerce, LINAC and construction industry, investors in energy, housing and development, BRAIN restaurants and HARALIN hotels, INTAA travel and the new ILEA retail, to create jobs for the Ilocano everyman.
She also appealed for the Provincial Board’s support in offering incentives for onsite, in-shop training: accommodation and training venues at Takuat and Marcos Stadium; fare and meal subsidies for trainees and trainors, and the governor’s permit free of charge.
“Yes, today the state of our province is better than it has ever been, and we are once again on track for development. Of course, Ilocos Norte has never been about being the biggest province, with the largest area, or the most massive population. Nor has it ever been the richest or the most developed. We say One Great Ilocos Norte, but point to Every Great Ilocano, working in the fields and on the coast, in schools and in offices, here and abroad. This is Ilocos Norte’s greatness and true wealth, the Ilocano everyman,” said Governor Marcos.
The Governor laid out the plan to commence Task Force Trabaho by consolidating specific sectors of the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte to seek out and identify Ilocanos who need jobs, who can provide jobs and those who have products to sell. Currently, there are nine major departments and sectors that focus primarily on employment, business and trade in the Province. The nine are: Public Employment Service Office (PESO), Education Department, Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Office of the Barangay Affairs, Social Welfare Development Office, Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K) Program, GAD/Womens Desk, OFW Families, Human Resources and Administration Department.
Consolidating these sectors along with other related programs will help entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes to grow, compete, and hire, leveraging Task Force Trabaho with one mission: to spur job creation and expand the province’s economy.
It would also ensure that ample assistance and attention would be given to training and education through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and principally the Province’s technical and vocational schools such as Ilocos Norte College of Arts & Trades (INCAT), Ilocos Norte Agricultural College (INAC) Pasuquin, Marcos Agro-Industrial School (MAIS) in Marcos and Bangui, IGAMA in Badoc, and all Provincial High Schools.
This year she established Task Force Trabaho to examine how to update the Provincial government to better support Ilocos Norte’s competitiveness in a 21st century global economy. With the recent 18% increase in employment, TFT commits to generating 5,000 quality jobs in the next year, 20,000 on-the-job, part-time, student and home-based opportunities.
“Ilocos Norte is open for business, and we are now hiring,” said Governor Marcos. –Nicole C. Rudio CMO-PGIN
