Filipino jobseekers and students who wish to equip themselves with trainings and skills to increase their chance of being considered for a job position but don’t have enough funds to finance their studies can take advantage of the scholarship grants that are being offered by the Labor Department and its attached agencies.

According to Labor Secretary, Rosalinda Baldoz, jobseekers can benefit from trainings and further studies because it will give them the needed skills and competencies and increase their chance of landing a decent job.

Baldoz explained, “We acknowledge there is really a need to arm our students and jobseekers with the proper skills and competencies required by companies in industries currently identified as having the most number of manpower demand. Aside from offering training programs to help them acquire required skills and relevant experience, we offer scholarship grants since not all students and jobseekers have the financial means to enroll in these programs.”

The Labor Secretary mentioned two scholarship programs that are currently being offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). These are the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) and the Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA) that aims to provide financial assistance to those who wish to gain technical-vocational education.

She said, “The TWSP prioritizes poor, unemployed students and jobseekers, and those who do not have prior formal training in the profession they want to get into. A TWSP scholar should be at least 18 years old at the time he or she finishes the training and should be able to pass the required educational attainment prescribed by the relevant training regulations.”

“PESFA, on the other hand, are for high school graduates, at least 15 years of age, who have taken the National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) or the Youth Profiling for Starring Careers (YP4SC),” she added.

The DOLE agencies also offer scholarship grants to dependents of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are active members of the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA). One program, the OWWA’s Tuloy-Aral Project (TAP) gives USD100 financial support to poor dependents of formers OFWs who are in elementary and high school.

Baldoz explained, “In the event that the scholar signifies his or her interest to pursue higher education, Tuloy-Kolehiyo, an extension of TAP, will help the student realize that goal.”

Other scholarship programs that cater to OFW dependents who wish to study in college are the following, the Education for Development Scholarship Program (EDSP), OFW Dependents Scholarship Program (OFWDSP) and the Education and Livelihood Assistance Program (ELAP).

The EDSP offers a maximum assistance grant of P60,000 per school year for a four-to five-year course in any college or university.

The OFWDSP is for children of OFWs whose salary is below USD400 a month. Scholars under OFWDSP received a maximum assistance of P20,000 per school year.

The ELAP is the scholarship option for the survivors of deceased OFWs. Scholars get to receive a financial assistance of Php5,000 for elementary; Php8,000 for high school; and Php10,000 for college students per school year. The surviving spouse would also receive a livelihood assistance of Php15,000.

“These scholarship grants are among the benefits enjoyed by an active OWWA member that’s why we highly encourage all OFWs to secure their membership with OWWA,” Baldoz said.

For more information about these scholarship programs, please visit the websites of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority at www.tesda.gov.ph; the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration at www.owwa.gov.ph ; and the Bureau of Labor Relations at www.blr.dole.gov.ph