JUNE 29, 2016

NR # 4246B

Lawmakers to pursue revised National Apprenticeship Program

Lawmakers vowed to pursue the proposed revised National Apprenticeship Program
when the 17th Congress convenes in July.
Authors recall that the House of Representatives passed HB 5303 on final reading
in early 2015 but the revised apprenticeship program, for lack of material time, never got
the Senates nod.
Government must sustain its programs providing skills and opportunities to the
countrys youth as the backbone of national development, the principal authors stressed.
HB 5303, a substitute measure to HB Nos. 221, 1594 and 2227, was collectively
authored during the outgoing 16th Congress by Rep. Cinchona Cruz-Gonzales, Rep.
Rodrigo A. Abellanosa, Rep. Juan Johnny R. Revilla, Rep. Emmeline Y. Aglipay, Rep.
Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, Rep. Gustavo S. Tambunting, and Rep. Leah S. Paquiz.
The main objective of the bill is to reform the national apprenticeship program by
providing the youth with skills and access to employment, and provide enterprises with a
mechanism to ensure a continuous supply of skilled manpower, the authors said.
The bill, expected to be re-introduced in the 17th Congress and pass through the
usual legislative process, seeks to repeal Chapters 1 and II of Title II of Presidential
Decree No. 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines.
The consolidated measure was successfully steered in plenary of the 16 th Congress
by the sponsoring House Committee on Labor and Employment chaired by Davao City reelected Rep. Nograles, with the able plenary defense by the other principal authors.
It identifies enterprises with program registered with the Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as the entities that can train apprentices instead of
employers in highly technical industries only.
Likewise, it sets the duration of the training according to the complexity of the
skills to be learned by the apprentices thereby expanding the maximum training period of
six (6) months only.
The proposed enumerate the content of the apprenticeship contract instead of
generally stating that it should conform to the rules issued by the Department of Labor and
Employment.

The proposed law introduces a provision that contributions to the training allowance
by government agencies and/or non-government organizations shall be considered in
computing the training allowances of apprentices presently placed at seventy-five percent
(75%) of the minimum wage.
There is also a provision setting the grounds, and the rules and procedure for the
termination of the apprenticeship agreement.
The proposed amendatory law provides for the issuance of training certificates to
apprentices who have completed the apprenticeship program comparable to the
completion of a training program in a Technical Vocation Education and Training (TVET)
institutions, and the award of equivalent unit credits in the formal system of education.
In addition, the bill provides for a compulsory apprenticeship in certain occupations
when national security or requirements of economic development so demand.
It also provides as an incentive to participating employers an additional deduction
from the gross income, instead of taxable income, on one-half (1/2) of the labor training
expenses, provided that a) the employer shall be exempt from the payment of
apprenticeship fee, and b) such deduction shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the
training allowance of the apprentices instead of the direct labor wages.
Furthermore, there is a vital provision requiring participating entities in the
apprenticeship program to provide a disability and/or accident insurance policy in favor of
the apprentices during the apprenticeship period.
The proposed statute states that any violation of the Act or its rules and regulations
shall be subject to the general penalty provided for in the Labor Code as amended.
Among other penalty clauses, the bill provides that enterprises found offering
unregistered apprenticeship programs shall be subjected to program closure proceedings
without prejudice to the filing of administrative, criminal or civil liabilities. (30) dpt