WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

PROVINCE OF SIQUIJOR

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

A. Overview of the Tourism Situation in the Areas

The Province of Siquijor is known of its natural, historical and cultural attractions. Its
natural magnificence comes in various features such as white sand beaches,
marine sanctuary, caves with subterranean streams, waterfalls, springs and forests
which serve as habitat of several endangered species of plants and animals. In an
effort to preserve its natural grandeur, the whole island of Siquijor is declared a
marine reserve and tourist zone in 1978 by virtue of Proclamation No. 1810 and
placed Siquijor Island under the supervision of the Philippine Tourism Authority.

Apart from its natural attributes, the Province of Siquijor is endowed with rich
historical and cultural attractions. Century old churches abounds the island, oldest
of all is the 146 year old St. Isidro Labrador Church and convent in the Municipality
of Lazi. Built by the Spaniards in 1887, it is assumed to be the biggest convent in
Asia. The convent is declared historical landmark by the Philippine Historical
Commission. Efforts are now on-going towards its restoration.

Other religious structures and attractions in Siquijor include the St. Francis Church
and Bell Tower in the Municipality of Siquijor, St. Vincent Church in Larena, Mt.
Carmel Church in Enrique Villanueva, St. Augustine Church in San Juan and Lady
of Devine Providence Church in Maria. Mythical accounts were told about a
mysterious Black Magic Mary statue is housed in the Devine Providence Church in
the town of Maria carrying an inverted cross on her left hand and a skull on her right.
The image was actually that of St. Rita of Cascia, the Patron Saint of the desperate
and abused persons. According to Msgr. Larry Catubig, St. Rita had a family before
she became a nun. Her husband and two children were ostracized and murdered.
Her grief left her to serve the convent until the remaining years of her life.

One unique identity of the island it its traditional healing rituals and practices
popularly known as bolo-bolo in fact, it has become one of the major tourist
attractions during Lenten Season dubbed as Healing Festival which showcases
traditional healers and production of organic-based healing oil and love potions.

The Province Siquijor belongs to the Central Visayas Tourism Cluster under the
Fourth Tourism Development Area (TDA 4) with Dumaguete based on the 2011-
2016 Philippine National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP). Under the NTDP, the
tourism themes identified in the cluster are MICE (meetings incentives conferences
expositions), business, resort, history, events, sightseeing and ecotourism.

Shown below are other popular tourism sites/destinations in the province, with their
respective location and nature of tourism portfolio.
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 Attraction Location Cong. Tourism Portfolio Circuit
District
Camp Cantabon, Lone Nature Adventure & Siquijor
Bandilaan Siquijor Healing ( traditional
healing & massage)
Capilay San Juan, Lone Nature and water park San Juan
Spring Park Siquijor Adventure (swimming)

Cantabon Cantabon, Lone Nature and Adventure Siquijor

Cave Siquijor ( trekking, caving,
swimming)
Tulapos Tulapos, Lone Nature and Adventure Enrique
Marine Enrique ( mangrove trailing) Villanueva
Sanctuary Villanueva,
Tree House
Cambugah Tigbawan, Lone Nature and Adventure Lazi
ay Falls Lazi, (swimming)
Siquijor
Cangbanga Pisong B, Lone Nature and Adventure Maria
g Falls Maria, (trekking, swimming)
Siquijor
Tulawog Ponong, Lone Nature and Adventure Siquijor
Cave Siquijor ( trekking, caving,
swimming)
Century old Campala- Lone Nature and Adventure Lazi
Balete Tree nas, Lazi ( fish spa)
Salagdoon Olang, Lone Sun & Beach Adventure Maria
g Beach Maria (nature trekking, boating,
Resort swimming)
Kagusuan Minalulan, Lone Sun & Beach Adventure Maria
Beach Maria (diving, boating,
swimming)
Giwanon Luyang, Lone Nature and Adventure Siquijor
Spring Park Siquijor (nature trekking,
swimming)

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 Visitor Arrival from 2012 to 2014

In the past three (3) years, Siquijor Province showed a steady increase of tourist
arrivals. In fact data for staying tourists has reached 40,485 in 2014. The province’s
popularity may be attributed to its pristine beaches, marine coral reefs, caves,
waterfalls and forests. Due to its healthy eco-system, swarm of fireflies can be found
in various spots in the island as the name Isla De Fuego or land of fire implies.

Famous cultural observances of Siquijor include town fiestas, Solili festival or

Wedding Festival a week before September 17 of each year which is the “Araw ng
Siquijor” , a weeklong celebration to commemorate the period when Siquijor
became an independent province from Negros Oriental by virtue of RA 6398 in
1971. Shortly thereafter, in 1972, the provincial capital was officially transferred from
Larena to Siquijor through a plebiscite held in November 8, 1971 and confirmed
through Proclamation No. 1075.

Domestic tourists primarily visit the island to observe religious rituals and fiestas in
various municipalities as follows:
 May 3 – Larena
 May 15 – Lazi
 May 24 - Maria
 July 16 – Enrique Villanueva
 August 28 – San Juan
 October 4 – Siquijor

2014 Statistics revealed that the overall inbound visits to Siquijor for that period
reached 40,485 which majority of whom were domestic tourists comprising about
57.66% and the rest were foreign tourists 42. 34%.

The tourist arrivals in Siquijor continue to grow; the following are the growth rates
of the island for five years:

2008 = 46.82%
2009 = 16.71%

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 2010 = 20.91%
2011 = 12.23%
2012 = 16.25%
2013=21.10%

Top 10 Nationalities & their numbers:

COUNTRY VOLUME GROWTH
RATE
2013 2014

FRANCE 2,531 2,435 -3.79%

GERMANY 1,856 1,836 -1.08%

USA 1,748 2,018 15.45%

UNITED KINGDOM 1,185 1,232 3.97%

AUSTRALIA 724 751 3.73%

CANADA 559 727 30.05%

CHINA 669 991 48.3%

SWITZERLAND 573 601 4.89%

SWEDEN 570 536 -5.96%

NETHERLANDS 522 522 0.00%

In comparison, using the 2013 and 2014 data as benchmarks, 2013 recorded
94,511 overnight stays which ballooned to 109,410 in 2014. Inferring from this,
traveler arrivals averaged 92 tourists per day in 2013, and 111 tourists per day in
2014, with an average growth rate of 21.10% within the two-year period.

The month of September 2014 logged the lowest number of visitor arrival. This may
be attributed to unfavorable weather condition such as strong winds and big waves
affected by the Northwest monsoon. However, tourist arrival picked up by
summertime especially in the month of May with 5,804 tourists. This is followed by
the month of April which has 4,463 arrivals and the month of March having 3,505
recorded visitor arrivals.

For walk-in and staying visits, Siquijor accounted for 150,889 visits in 2013 which
increased to 209,819 visits in 2014 or an increase of 20% based on the latest survey
submitted by the Provincial Tourism Unit.

In a glimpse, foreign tourist arrival to Siquijor showed a progressive line with 15,472
arrivals in 2013 and 17,140 arrivals in 2014.

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 Top 10 foreign visitors recorded in the province were French, German, American,
British, Australian, Canadian, Chinese, Swiss, Swedish and Dutch nationals.

The French topped the list with 2,531 visitors in 2013 though it slightly decreased
by 3.79% and in 2014 with 2,435 visitors. From the standpoint of arrivals, the
Americans got the second top spot at 2,018 arrivals in 2013; and the Germans
ranked 3rd at 1,856 in 2013.

Occupying the last slot in 3013 was Denmark with 400 visits with 46.25% increase
in arrivals in 2014.

Age distribution of tourists is the following:

 45-70 years old – 36%
 retired seniors – 18%
 25-34 years old – 31.50%
 15-24 years old – 16.9%

Majority of the tourists in Siquijor are adults wherein the average age is 45-70 years
old. Sex distribution is 52% male, 48% female.

Visits to the province are mainly for Pleasure and Vacation (88%), followed by
Visiting Relatives/Friends (8%) and Business/ professional work (2%). They usually
travel as a couple or with relatives, however, more than 70% prefer organizing their
own trips instead of availing packages from travel agencies or tour operators. The
duration of their trip varies among nationalities. The average stay of domestic and
other Asian tourists is three Europeans remain longer, with an average of six nights.
As of this writing, there is only one (1) accredited travel and tour establishment
located in Siquijor town center. Most staying guests arrange their bookings with
travel agencies outside Siquijor while others arrange their visits directly with the
resorts.

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 Siquijor Island Tourism Circuit
To Dumaguete City Sanduga
Siquijor n Beach
Port and and
Town inc. Larena
St. Francis port area
Assisi
Church

Mt. Tulapos
Landing Bandilaan Marine
strip Nature Sanctuar
Park incl. y
Butterfly
sanctuary,
Cantabon Cave
Salagdoo
ng Beach
and
Forest
(Maria)
San Juan
Century-old
Cluster: Beach Balete Lazi
resorts and Convent/
dive sites; San Isidro
Paradise Bay, Church
and
Lugnason
Cambugah
Falls, Capilay ay Falls
Spring Park

For planning reference, Siquijor is a beneficiary of a joint initiative between the

Governments of the Republic of the Philippines and Canada through the
Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Local Governance
Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED) until 2016. Under
this initiative, tourist destinations and circuits have been initially identified by the
NTDP but the province is given a wide latitude of discretion to establish more
inclusive circuit development areas. The project capitalizes on the province’s
existing tourism assets/resources, wherein the existing tourism products will be
improved, current offerings diversified, and investment opportunities opened to local
and other investors, and jobs made available to members of the local communities.

The project is located in the circuit consisting of 6 LGUs in Siquijor Province: San
Juan, Lazi, Maria Enrique Villanueva, Larena and Siquijor. The Provincial Tourism
Unit (PTU), under the Office of the Governor, is the implementing unit located in
Siquijor.

The overall goal of the project is the promotion of tourism and agri-business
initiatives for economic development, contributing to the improved quality of life of
every Siquijudnon.

This project capitalizes on its existing tourism assets/resources, wherein the existing
tourism products will be improved; current offerings diversified, and investment
opportunities opened to local and other investors, and jobs made available to
members of the local communities.

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 Project partners are the Provincial Government of Siquijor and Siquijor Chamber of
Commerce. It is supported by national agencies: the Department of Interior and
Local Government (DILG), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology
(DOST), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

B. Local Workforce Situationer

 Overview of Tourism Sector

o Enterprises by sub-sector

1. Hotel

The Province of Siquijor Circuit has existing accommodation establishments,

transport sector, travel and tours, restaurants and “pasalubong” centers or souvenir
shops.

Based on the 2013 Accommodation Capacity Survey conducted by the Provincial

Tourism Unit in 6 LGUs in the province, there are a total of 678 rooms available in
107 accommodation establishments which could accommodate more or less 1,356
heads in single-day occupancy.

Accommodation establishments are situated in the following LGU Clusters:

 Municipality of Siquijor – 26
 Municipality of San Juan- 41
 Municipality of Lazi -9
 Municipality of Enrique Villanueva- 9
 Municipality of Maria – 4
 Municipality of Larena – 18

2. Transport

Siquijor is accessible by sea from Cebu City, Dumaguete City and Tagbilaran City.
Lite Shipping ferries passengers coming to the island from Cebu City via Tagbilaran
City to Larena Port 3 times a week and vise-versa. For visitors arriving from
Dumaguete City Port, daily trips by Montenegro Shipping, Orlines, Aleson Shipping,
Oceanjet fast ferries & JL Express are available in specific time of approximately 1-
2hour intervals. A total of 35 trips inbound and outbound Siquijor island daily under
normal weather condition.

Travel time from Cebu City to Larena Port via Tagbilaran is approximately 6 hours.
Travel time from Dumaguete City Port is approximately 30-45minutes for fast crafts
and 1 hour and 30 minutes for slow boats/roro vessels.

Below is the number of sea transport servicing tourists from either Cebu City or
Dumaguete City gateways:

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  Ferries -4
 Fast crafts – 4
 Banca – 2

There will be expected addition of 1 ferry and 1 fast craft late this year.

There is no available flight to Siquijor in the meantime due to the on-going repair
and expansion of the airstrip and passenger terminal.

The province, the following land-based public transportation available daily:

 Vans for hire
 Tricycles
 Multicabs (EZ ride)
 Motorcycle for Hire (Habal-habal)- 215
 Mini-bus -52

Expected additions to land-base transport in Siquijor late this year is 3 motorcycles

and 2 mini-buses.

3. Travel and Tours

There are currently 2 travel and tour establishment in the province situated in the
Municipality of Siquijor. There will be additional 1 Travel & Tour service expected
to operate within the year in the same circuit.

There are about 25 DOT- trained tour guides in the province.

4. Restaurant

There are about 98 restaurants and food outlets in the province. Most of these are
found within the resort, however there are also a number of restaurants, refreshment
places and eateries in the province adequate to serve tourists such as:

Name Business Owner Municipality

M’s Place Refreshment Filipina Siquijor
Samy’s Pizza Restaurant Filipino Siquijor
La Costa Cafe Restaurant Filipina Larena
Chan Eatery Eatery Filipina Siquijor
Halo-Halo Refreshment Filipina Larena
Meteor Restaurant LGU Siquijor

Ownership of business as shown in the table indicates that most food

establishments related to tourism is owned by Filipina Women. Consistently, the
president of SHORRETAS or Siquijor Hotel Resorts Restaurants Travel Agencies
Association is a woman and also an elected Municipal Councilor of the Municipality
of Siquijor, Mdm. Joy Lopez de Andrade.

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 Projected additional food establishments within the year is five (5), set to employ
about 14 kitchen crews and food servers.

5. Others (Souvenir Shops, Activities, etc.)

For other establishments, the newly established Pasalubong Center in the

Municipality of Larena caters to tourists for their souvenir shopping activities. There
are also a number of souvenir shops located near Siquijor Port and in the public
market areas of Siquijor and Larena.

Apart from its natural beauty, assets of Siquijor Tourism also include moderate pace
of life in the island, friendliness and genuine hospitality of the people and prevailing
security and peacefulness. Product portfolios focus more on nature and adventure,
sun and beach, nautical and cruise, diving and marine, healing, heritage, culture
and education. Considering these potentials, the provincial Tourism Master Plan
finds it necessary to merge these economic boosters to increase community
productivity.

o Projected additional enterprises and employment

To promote economic growth and create more jobs in a locality, local government
units, their communities and leading industry partners are encouraged to
consolidate skills and resources to help boost any tourism interest in their area.

With the estimated increase of at least 20 percent of foreign tourists and 30 percent
of domestic tourists, availability of rooms for occupancy is a direct necessity. It is
perceived that with the increasing entry of tourists, quality accommodation
establishments in the circuit are crucial.

It is projected that room capacity should be increased by 20 percent or an addition

of more or less 42 rooms in the next two years. This transforms about 2,000
occupancy per single day.

In terms of transport requirement, more accredited operators would be expected to

locate in the Circuit to service tourists from possible gateways to the sites within the
Circuit and neighboring local government units.

As tourists increase, food requirement also increases exponentially. In this note,

restaurants and food stalls are likely to flourish in the Circuit creating additional
livelihood opportunities for the local community.

To enhance tourism experience, more activities and the quality of human resources
are an important and vulnerable segment of tourism management because of their
role in establishing a connection with the tourists as service users. The quality of
human resources affects the quality of tourist services and the competitiveness of
the tourism sector. However, despite the increasing demand for workers in this
sector, there is a challenge for hiring staff with specific skills, abilities, knowledge in

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 the future period. In this sense, the increase of the tourism sector competitiveness
will largely depend on the human resources quality improvement

 Employment Situation in the Tourism Sector

o Number employed( by sub-sector, disaggregated by sex) and
unemployed

The tourism sector will contribute to the increase in the number of employees in the
province in several ways. Namely, tourism can affect employment: a) Directly,
through a larger number of employees in the tourism sector (e.g. employment in
hotel business, travel agencies, airports, passenger transport companies, etc.).
Increasing number of employees in the tourism sector is a result of the broader
scope of tourism activities; b) Indirectly – Increased activity of the tourism sector can
create additional demand for the inputs of the tourism sector. Thus, increased
demand causes an increase in the level of employment within other industries,
which are related to tourism (trade, industry, handicrafts, agriculture, etc); c)
Induced - Tourism development increases the living standard and consumption of
the people employed in this sector. Thus, the increased demand for goods and
services, which has been induced by employees in tourism, can increase the
number of employees in manufacturing and service sectors (textile industry,
education, etc.).

In terms of direct employment, available data show that for the hotel business
throughout the province, there are more than 700 employees as of date.

In the Circuit, the 232 establishments have generated a total employment of 1,159
as of latest survey. About 60 percent of the employed sector is among the hotel
establishment workforce.

As to sex disaggregation, hotel workers are mostly female comprising about 79%
percent of the total workforce population numbering 378 employees, compare to the
31 % or 300 male workers more or less.

For travel and tours, the 2 establishments within the Circuit have generated 3 hired
jobs with 3 females and 0 males.

The transport sector has generated a bigger chunk of the labor force. It has
employed 322 individuals. 13 of them are females which is only about 4% of the
total transportation labor force.

Restaurants and souvenir shops have no available data pertaining to the specific
gender of their workers.

 Current Workforce Development Stakeholder and Support Program

o Potential training and partners
 Technical Vocational Institutes

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 The following are the Technical Vocational Institutes and colleges within the Circuit
that offer tourism-related programs:

 Lazi Technology Livelihood Development Center – run by TESDA

 Quezon Memorial Integrated School – Municipality of Siquijor
 Siquijor State College – Municipality of Larena
 Bohol Institute of Technology – Municipality of Siquijor

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 Sector Notes on the presence or absence of trained, Notes on the barriers to employment
potential workers from the area and career growth opportunities in
the local industry

Hotels Lack of training on household and hospitality

management  No accreditation and regular
trainings
Lack of Staff Management Development  None compliant to existing labor
Training standards which translates to
non-competitive wage rate
Lack of employment opportunities in the locality  Migrate to other provinces/
cities to get employment
Preference to hire workers from neighboring
cities who are skilled and more competent in  Lack of monitoring by
guest handling government

Transport Lack of tourism awareness trainings for  No accreditation and

transport operators and drivers regular training
 Lack of monitoring by
Language barrier; some operators cannot speak government and authorities
nor understand English language  Absence of scholarship
opportunities for tourism
Lack of awareness on existing transport policies including maritime courses,
and regulations aviation training
Absence of local enabling
Lack of training on security and safety policies to regulate transport fees

Travel and Tours Capacity Development for existing tour guides to  No accreditation and training
(inc. Guides) include tourism culture and awareness,  Most agencies are single
environmental preservation, marine protection proprietorship or family venture
among others.  Government must implement
Local Investment and incentive
Lack tour packages for destination policy to improve and sustain
the local tourism industry
More specialized trainings for community tour
guides, eco-tour guides and farm-tour guides  Engage communities in
promoting eco-tourism and farm-
Absence of rewards and incentives strategy for tourism initiatives since
operators and workers Agriculture is one of the major
industries in the province

Restaurant Lack of training in food handling and safety,  No accreditation

hospitality in dining and customer relations  Most agencies are single
proprietorship or family venture
Lack of skills in Culinary Arts  Lack of monitoring by local
health and sanitation officers
Limited choices of F & B facilities in most tourist  Lack of coordination among
destinations; resort-based restaurants are more restaurant owners and skills
expensive compared to local carenderia/ food service providers in the area
stalls No concrete government program for
skills training and employment for
tourism
Others (e.g. Lack of product packaging for pasalubong  No accreditation
Souvenir Shops,  Most agencies are single
Activities, Train women and men in arts and crafts, proprietorship or family venture
Attractions) weaving, carving and production of souvenir
items  The provincial government
through their GAD fund should
implement income generating
and livelihood program for
unemployed women and men
for production of quality
pasalubong and souvenir items.

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 o LGU Policies and programs to enable workforce development

Unemployment rate in the province of Siquijor reaches its peak in 2001 which was
5.3% with 85% of the total population leaving below poverty line. Employment
opportunities were scarce with only government offering limited permanent
positions. Other sources of income are OFW remittances, personal business, and
salaries derived mostly from the agriculture, industry and service.

On workforce development, the Provincial Government is determined in promoting

eco-tourism activities as a major industry and specifically developing the assets and
potentials of our tourist destinations. It has placed responsibilities to the Provincial
Social Welfare Office and PESO through the 4Ps initiatives in an effort to maximize
utilization of skilled and semi-skilled workforce belonging to the indigent sector to
boost the economic status of families in the community.

NGAs such as DSWD, TESDA and DTI are contributing to LGUs workforce
development program by way of providing technical assistance and skills training
to employable individuals in the province.

Efforts are now underway to establish a Skills Registry System in 6 LGUs in

partnership with DOLE and PESO in 6 LGUs and in the province.

C. Opportunities and constraints to workforce development and employment:

1. Building the competitiveness of the tourism sector (i.e. substandard
quality of tourism products and services, limited or unattractive tourism
sites and activities, high cost of skilled labor, etc)

2. Enabling workforce development (i.e. absence of labor market

information, absence of information on supply of skilled workers,
trainings available, etc)

No. of employees Unemployed

Sector
M F TOT M F TOT
No Available
Hotels 300 378 678 Data

Transport 365 13 378

Travel and Tours (inc.

15 15 30
Guides)

Restaurant 38 60 98

Others (e.g. Souvenir Shops,

11 20 6
Activities, Attractions)

Source: Siquijor tourism data & Provincial Tourism Office data

3. Women and child workers and cultural based issues

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 Culture-based issues of workforce
LGU Issues related to women and child workers
development (including IPs)

 Lack of awareness on the following issues,

San Juan risks and vulnerabilities such as:  Gender discrimination in hiring and
 Exploitation of women and children promotion ; preference in hiring workers
(sexual harassment, child labor, especially women “with pleasing
unfair labor practices, domestic personality”, or unmarried women
violence, reproductive health and
rights, personal/environmental safety  Employers prefer male workers
& security among others.) especially on labor-intensive jobs
 Lack of training on gender sensitivity
among police enforcers and barangay  Employers prefer female workers for
tanods and officials clerical and administrative jobs

 Skills do not match with available  Acceptance of any job available though
competencies irrelevant to an individual’s capability

 Poverty incidence is high  Inclination to migrate or work abroad

 Lack the ability to properly respond to  Most establishment does not conform to
abrupt changes in the workforce existing building regulations manifested
by the absence of ramps for PWDs and
 Selection of applicants is discriminating the elderly; absence of nursing areas for
against IPs, PWDs and Women nursing mothers; absence changing
rooms and toilet facilities each for female
 Lack of equal opportunities for women for male and persons with disabilities
merit-based, competency-based
employment and promotion.

 Lack of gender-disaggregated data in

tourism particularly employment data of
most tourism establishments.

 Lack of coordination between government

and the business sectors/ industries in
terms of the employment demand and
supply aspects.

 Skills registry system in the locality not yet

established

 Lack of monitoring by appropriate

Lazi regulatory agencies like LTO, Business
Permits and Licensing, DOLE, PESO
Maria DSWD, PNP among others

Enrique  Reluctance by some business

Villanueva establishments to hire local manpower with
the perception that they are less
Larena experienced and less competent.

 Limited scholarship opportunities for

tourism skills upgrading. Only 25 trainees
per batch. Training schedule varies
depending on the MOA and Budget.

Siquijor

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 II. LGU PLAN TO ADDRESS THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM THROUGH THE
PRIORITY ECONOMIC SECTOR

Goals:

 Providing a highly skilled workforce that supports a globally competitive economy

and a socially inclusive community
 Ensure a coordinated approach to workforce planning and provide an effective
business support network.

Objectives:

 Improve the capacity of the tourism industry to plan for future workforce needs
through relevant research and monitoring;
 Deliver education and training programs that will meet the needs of the industry;
 Encourage and inspire workers to deliver world class performance and to
reinforce shift from productivity to experience focus;
 Improve productivity to increase margin and to provide the opportunity to
improve rewards for high performing staff;
 Develop strategies to improve retention and career pathways within the industry
 Promote flexibility in employment arrangements to be more responsive to
employee’s personal commitments; and
 Position tourism as an employer of choice to targeted sectors of the current and
future labor market and promote career opportunities accordingly.

Enabling workforce development (i.e. absence of labor market)

Stakeholder Key employment or workforce Policy Objectives

group development concerns
Current Workers Poor working conditions (i.e. work benefits, Increase Quality of Labor Conditions
insurance, low management support) competitive to the ASEAN market

Unemployed Limited Access to employment opportunities Increase access to employment opportunities,

residents skills upgrading and carrier development.
Limited Capacity Development opportunities

Absence of Labor Pool or Skill Registry System

Existing Employees Limited Access to management and leadership Raise level of managerial and leadership skills
training opportunities and resources of establishment operators
responsive to the demands of the ASEAN
Integration

Investors Limited Access to data and information on Increase investor’s knowledge on investment
investment promotions climate

Need to establish the Investment and

Promotions Center in the Province of Siquijor

Pass and implement LIIC across LGUs in the

province

Training Providers Lack of information on potential Increase level of strategic cooperation and
employers/employees convergence among trainers and potential
funders

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 Low Level Industry Linkage/Alliance
Poor coordination among training providers
and employers

Goals:

1. Raise the profile of tourism as an employer and to shift the focus from
production outcomes to experience outcomes that more truly reflect the
skills and competencies required to deliver world class experiences.
2. The people who work in the industry have the appropriate skills and
personal attributes to deliver a quality experience and there are
education and training systems in place to recognize and deliver the
skills and knowledge required.

Objective 1: Ensure that the number of people employed in the industry is

sufficient to do the work required, to the standard required, to
consistently deliver a world-class visitor experience.

Sub-objective 1.1 Provide capacity trainings and continuous technical

education to transport, hotel, restaurant and hospitality labor
force to deliver world class experiences to tourists.
1.2 Establish a skills database for transport, hotel, restaurant
and hospitality labor force for proper matching with available
competencies in the market.
1.3 Provide transport, hotel, restaurant and hospitality
establishment owners with the right information and labor
practices in place to maximize the contribution of their
people.

Objective 2: Strengthen linkage among local government unit, national

government agencies and private sectors in creating wholesome
working environment.

Sub-objective 1.1 Implement structures and mechanisms to address future workforce

and skill needs.
1.2 Retain people with experience and expertise within the industry
because they have opportunities to grow and build satisfying
careers.

III. RESULTS (EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE PLAN)

The DILG in partnership with the LGU through the PESO shall have direct supervision and control
over the implementation of the plan. To expedite implementation, the PESO is tasked to discharge
the necessary function as provided for in the Memorandum of Agreement between the Province and
the DILG and coordinate with project partners and support agencies.

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 IV. TARGET CLIENTS/BENEFICIARIES OF THE PROGRAM

The Siquijor Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as main private partners, shall be the official
investment promoter of the province and one of the major prime movers of the Workforce
Development Plan.

The PESO shall act as the overall implementing arm of the plan.

V. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
 Updated Profile on SRS
 Partnership
 Skills Training
 Job and Livelihood Facilitation

VI. KEY ACTIVITIES

 Enhancement of the Skills Registry System at the Province;
 Improvement of facilities and equipment;
 Provision of technical assistance on Trabajo project implementation in the target
LGUs;
 Coordination with other national line agencies for proper implementation of the plan,
and
 Monitoring and Evaluation.

VII. KEY PARTNERS

The table below indicates opportunities for convergence between and among
GOs, NGAs, the academe and the private sectors.

Name of Agency & Representative Commitments for convergence and resource Next steps
mobilization
1. TESDA  Lazi Technical Institute is offering NC  Coordinate directly with
II training for the following tourism Lazi Technical Institute
related courses: or thru the Local Chief
- Food & beverage Executives or PESO
- Bar tending Managers for enrollment
- Housekeeping checklist & schedule of
- Cookery classes.
 All 6 LGUs are given priority slots and
can accommodate at least 25
students/ scholars per batch
2. DOLE  Training cum production program in  Visit DOLE office for
partnership with TESDA. detailed information
 Training cum production program about training cum
package includes equipment, raw production program.
materials and skills training for
livelihood enhancement.
 Have successfully implemented the
following projects:
- Tourism Boat in Dauin – caters to
tourists/ passengers to Apo Island;
managed by the fisher folks
association; max of 30 passengers per
trip.

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 - Virgin coconut oil production in the
Municipality of Valencia
- Pandan weaving project in
Guihulngan City.
 DOLE can invite trainers to match the
training needs of target beneficiaries
3. DSWD  Implements regular skills training  Coordinate with the
program for unskilled women and DSWD offices for list of
persons with disability under the Cash programs related to
for Work, Cash for Training and Food available skilled/ semi
for Work Program of DSWD. skilled workforce and for
 Maintains a list of skilled/ semi skilled list of trainings &
and unemployed individuals and poor programs.
families who are eligible to get
employment.
 Through the Gender and
Development Program fund, conducts
training and awareness on various
social issues like human trafficking,
domestic violence, child labor, drug
addiction among others.
 Implements & monitors skills training &
livelihood programs and projects on
poverty alleviation under the BUB
initiatives
4. DTI  DTI can assist LGSP-LED and  LED partners may
partners in the area of Product submit a list of products,
Development local producers to DTI
 Provides CapDev and skills training to office to avail of related
interested producers/ beneficiaries technical assistance on
product development.
5. Siquijor State University  Commits to provide training on  For interested LGUs
Conversational English for tour they can visit SSC for
guides, boat crews, drivers etc. details and training
 Research work on visitors experience schedules.
 Offers various courses on tourism

VIII. BUDGET

A total of P5, 000,000.00 from the DILG Trabajo Fund will be utilized to carry out the Workforce
Development Plan of the Province of Siquijor.

IX. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

To ensure proper and timely implementation of the Trabajo Program, a Monitoring and Evaluation Team
will be created composed of the provincial government, national line agencies, academe, tourism sector,
NGOs/CSOs/POs.

X. COMMUNICATION PLAN

 Disseminate the basic project information between and among concerned stakeholders;
 Promote better cooperation and transparency;
 Coordinate with tri-media channels and social media for publicity;
 Share best practices, insights, and lessons learned to other key project stakeholders; and
 Submit progress report to the DILG and others concerned.

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