Project OYSTER helps OSYs get jobs
In step with President Arroyo's SONA goal, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported that 98,184 out-of-school youths (OSY) have been employed in various capacities through the barangays across the country since 2002.
The DILG press report disclosed that the OSYs get their respective jobs under the project dubbed "Out of School Youth Serving Towards Economic Recovery" or OYSTER.
In the first quarter of 2008, the DILG's Planning Service reported to Secretary Ronaldo Puno that around 29,811 youths have asttended training workshops in order to prepare them for their responsibilities as employed workers.
Besides providing economic assistance, project OYSTER has also helped prevent involvement of the youth in juvenile-related crimes.
Under the project, OSYs are employed as road maintenance workers, market porters, waste recyclers, ambulant vendors, car washers, vehicle dispatchers and factory workers.
Some OSYs also undergo training on computers, fire prevention, rescue operations and other similar activities, the DILG press report disclosed.(PIA/T.Villavert)