Every summer, three decades ago, the agricultural company I worked with offered on the job training (OJT) to at least five students from various universities and colleges. These graduating students didn’t pay OJT fees to their schools nor to our company; instead our company paid them minimum wage and gave them food and transportation allowances.
Now, my graduating daughter taking up mass communication has to pay P10,500 to her school as practicum fee. As part of OJT, she is working now in an advertising agency without pay. No problem for parents who can afford to pay, but for me I have to borrow the amount from a loan shark company.
What about nursing students? They have to pay a certain fee to hospitals or nursing schools just to earn several hours, days, months, to at least two years of work experience. That is the minimum requirement (two-year work experience) to get a work contract abroad.
The number of unemployed Filipinos in the last quarter of 2013 swelled to more than 12 million, making the
7.2-percent growth in the country’s gross domestic product last year, considered the second fastest after China, far from inclusive (“SWS: Unemployment rate rose to 27.5% in Q4,” Front Page, 2/11/14).
As part of the government program to ease our unemployment problem, I suggest that government pay the OJT fees or altogether prohibit OJT.
—ISIDRO C. VALENCIA,
elcidvalencia60@gmail.com