JUNE 21, 2016

NR # 4238B

Upgrading of the National Apprenticeship Program, a must

Providing skills and opportunities to the countrys youth as the engine of national
development must be the focus of the State to ensure that its human resource is at par with
global demands and developments.
Re-elected members of the House of Representatives who are principal co-authors
of the measure to upgrade the countrys National Apprenticeship Program as contained in
HB 5303, are expected to pursue the measure in the coming 17th Congress.
There is an urgent need 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.
HB 5303, which was passed by the House in January 2015 but was still pending in
the Senate when Congress adjourned sine die this June, seeks to repeal Chapters I and II
of Title II of Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor
Code of the Philippines.
The bill, a substitute measure to the original HBs 221, 1594 and 2227, is
collectively authored 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, Rep. Leah S. Paquiz, and the late Rep. Roy V. Seeres, Sr.
The consolidated measure was successfully steered in plenary by re-elected Rep.
Nograles, chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Employment, with the able
plenary defense by its principal authors.
The bill 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.
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 statute also enumerated 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 (DOLE).
It also introduces a provision that the 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.
The bill 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 Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, and the award of
equivalent unit credits in the formal system of education.
Likewise, it includes a provision on compulsory apprenticeship in certain
occupations when national security or requirements of economic development so demand.
There is also a provision setting the grounds, and the rules and procedure for the
termination of the apprenticeship agreement.
HB 5303 provides as an incentive to participating employers an additional
deductions from the gross income, instead of taxable income, of 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.
Another salient provision requires 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 bill states that any violation of the proposed 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 states 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