The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) plans to turn temporary government work into a pathway to regular employment, skills certification, livelihood, and other sustainable opportunities in 2027.

Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino told a Senate budget hearing on Wednesday that the department would enhance its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) program to help beneficiaries move beyond short-term employment.

“We seek to build on TUPAD as an immediate employment safety net by creating pathways from temporary work towards skills development, sustainable livelihood and enterprise, regular employment, job preservation, foundational learning support, and opportunities in the blue economy,” Tolentino said.

Under the enhanced program, workers will be profiled based on their skills and needs and referred to appropriate opportunities, including training, certification, employment, and livelihood programs.

DOLE has rolled out seven TUPAD pathways, including SkillPass, which provides QR-verifiable credentials for workers’ experience and training, and Trabahong-Dagat for fisherfolk and coastal communities.

The department will also implement Sagip Trabaho, which provides temporary wage support to qualified distressed micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to help retain workers.

Beyond TUPAD, DOLE plans to continue monthly nationwide job fairs and strengthen referrals through Public Employment Service Offices under its “Trabaho Agad” drive. As of August, more than 1,600 job fairs had resulted in over 65,000 on-the-spot hires.

The department is also targeting more than 220,000 youth beneficiaries in 2027 through programs including the Special Program for Employment of Students, Government Internship Program and JobStart.

For labor standards enforcement, the department aims to inspect 190,000 establishments next year, following inspections of more than 176,000 workplaces covering nearly 2.3 million workers as of August.

Tolentino also said DOLE is pursuing a National Academy for Labor Justice and a Legal Assistance Office to expand workers’ access to legal counseling, representation, and referrals.

The department has been allocated PHP26.162 billion under the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program.

“The proposed budget is not simply a collection of programs and expenditures. It represents our commitment to translate public resources into jobs created and facilitated, workers skilled and protected, livelihoods sustained, enterprises supported, and labor justice made more accessible,” Tolentino said. (PNA)