WAPES shared expertise in the memorable 25th National PESO Congress in the Philippines
On Oct 16, Minako TAKASAKI, Project Coordinator of the WAPES Executive Secretariat, was invited as a resource speaker at the 25th National Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Congress held in Tagaytay City, the Philippines.
In this memorable 25th anniversary conference, over a thousand PES frontline implementers, ranging from managers to job placement officers nationwide, gathered to reaffirm the country’s vital strategy, discuss best practices, and receive awards for outstanding performance from the Employment Minister. This is one of the most important internal events to motivate PESO staff and improve the quality of PES in the Philippines.
In a session themed ‘Global Innovations in Public Employment Services: Insights from International Partners’, Ms. TAKASAKI shared the vital roles of WAPES, the recent WAPES activities, and demonstrated the activities of the WAPES-Japan Joint Project for the Philippines on the PESO five-point agenda (Philippines’ official strategy to improve PESO).
This project is implemented, focusing on the ‘Bench-learning’ concept through peer learning and mutual self-assessment. After her presentation, four panelists from the regional PESOs discussed their suggestions and experience-based impressions to make the Joint project more meaningful and practical.
The highlights of the discussion
- WAPES is a global knowledge hub of PES, providing opportunities to exchange best practices and collaborate to address common challenges among members
- The Joint Project aims to provide policy recommendations and good practice sharing to optimize service quality, through peer learning and mutual self-assessment by PES practitioners from the Philippines and Japan.
- Sharing Japanese best practices to enhance youth employability: – Centering PESOs within local stakeholders’ networks for effective functioning of the employment ecosystem – Delivering consistent quality PES across the country by using digital technology.
The Joint project is scheduled to give a midterm report to WAPES members at the upcoming WAPES Asia-Pacific Regional Conference 2025 in Clark City, the Philippines, on November 6th.