From its humble beginnings in 2010, the JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMC) Entrepreneurship Education for Community Development Program has grown into a movement that continues to uplift the lives of many underprivileged Filipinos, helping create better livelihood opportunities and entrepreneurial careers through free tech-voc and entrepreneurship skills education.
As it marks its sixth year of active corporate social responsibility in the Philippines, JPMorgan Chase focuses on bringing holistic intellectual and human capital development through a renewed partnership with Bayan Academy for Social Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Development, Inc. (Bayan Academy), a social enterprise development institution whose mission is to “serve the servers.”
Leading the way in addressing the needs and challenges of the 21st century global economy, both JPMorgan and Bayan Academy recognize the importance of strategic collaborations in synergizing genuine grassroots intervention efforts.
Enhanced Tech-Voc Program
In an effort to address the skills and job mismatch besetting today’s industry and workforce, Bayan Academy has structured this year’s JPMC program to focus on developing high-tech, high-impact, in-demand hard skills. Compared with the previous JPMC initiatives, this year’s program provides an innovative learning framework that will help achieve full-scale knowledge and tech-voc skills transfer. The shift in focus is in response to the looming industry need for workers with 21st century readiness skills including a higher remuneration of graduates.
Under the two-year initiative, more than 1,000 beneficiaries will be trained in the following STEM skills: IT (contact center services, computer system servicing, 2D and 3D Animation), Welding (shield metal arc and gas metal arc), and Construction (electrical installation and maintenance, carpentry, masonry and plumbing) from June 2016 to March 2017. Participants who successfully finish the program will be certified by the government’s Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Also within the two-year program, at least 500 teachers will be trained online to use-up-to-date entrepreneurship and STEM modules.
Students of Electrical Installation and Maintenance NC II during their hands-on training conducted at CCT-TDI Rodriguez, Rizal Campus.
During the initial phase of the program in May 2016, Bayan Academy awarded 25 scholarships in 2D Animation NC III and another 25 scholarships in 3D Animation NC III to deserving and qualified scholars. Fifty scholars for the electrical installation and maintenance NC II and 25 carpentry NC II courses were also given the grant. For teachers training, 162 have been trained in Rizal, Cebu City and NCR in partnership with Department of Education (DepEd).
Building on its core STEM training program, Bayan Academy, will pilot three new components: Evaluation and thought leadership; creation of trade guilds to facilitate employer-employee contact; and blended, online training of trainers’ tool. Dubbed the Bayan Learning Systems, the platform aims to scale the Academy’s work by helping disseminate JPMC-supported learning materials as well as broaden the reach of the program to connect with more distant learners like OFWs, student-beneficiaries and teachers, nationally.
Partners in Progress
Roberto Panlilio, Managing Director and Philippines Senior Country Officer at JPMorgan Chase & Co. said the renewed partnership with Bayan Academy affirms the company’s commitment to uplifting the lives of the Filipino people through education and skills training
“We believe it is our responsibility to do the right thing not only for our clients but also the communities we support, and this includes extending support to nationwide efforts focused on employment generation. Addressing the skills gap and jobs mismatch is a critical step towards economic development and inclusive growth.”
“Bayan Academy is a thought leader in social development and has created effective interventions through educational, livelihood and technical programs, increasing social capital and facilitating greater private-public partnerships.,” Panlilio added.
Critical to the success of the ongoing program is the collaborative efforts of Bayan Academy with various private and government stakeholders. Among these are ground development institutions like the Center for Community Transformation, the National Housing Authority, and the ERDA Foundation which directly work with underprivileged communities and mobilize them as recipients of the training program. Also commendable for their training and job placement support are industry partners — Wilcon Depot, Inc., Workx and Wayz Solutions, Covenant Community Service Cooperative, Global Tronics, Inc., Anino Play Lab, and Affinity Express.
“Bayan Academy has developed a solid business and operational model that leverages the full organization’s strength and expertise. With their strong governance framework, network of partnerships across the academe, government institutions and private organizations, it is easy to recognize the Foundation’s vision and strategy executed effectively,” Panlilio remarked.
Nation Building from below through Corporate Giving
Enlivening the spirit of ‘bayanihan’ in the modern setting, the JPMC program also became the venue of Manila and Cebu-based JPMC volunteers to share their skills and knowledge. Participating as speakers and career coaches, the volunteers connected with the program beneficiaries by engaging them in sessions covering life-long learning, personality development, work ethics, project management skills, including proper decorum during job interviews.
Dr. Eduardo A. Morato, Jr., Chairman and President of Bayan Academy shares his vision and plans for the JPMC Entrepreneurship Education Program for Community Development with a JPMorgan Chase Global Philanthropy senior officer.
“The firm continues to sponsor skills-based volunteerism and engage our employees to actively participate in Bayan Academy-led training activities. Be it ideation sessions or soft-skills training, these volunteer initiatives all form part of a broader strategy that not only provides JPMorgan with an opportunity to give back to the community but also allows our own employees to share their expertise with our beneficiaries while also developing their leadership capabilities,” said Patricia Anne Javier–Gutierrez, Executive Director and head of Corporate Communications
For Dr. Eduardo A. Morato, Jr., Chairman of Bayan Academy, JPMorgan as a corporate giant is not only reaching the underprivileged segments of the society but also helps Bayan Academy in achieving its mandate of designing, developing and delivering innovative social interventions that could create powerful impact to the underserved segments of the society.
“The story of Bayan Academy is incomplete without the generosity and trust of JPMorgan. With JPMorgan, we can reach more grassroots and propel the technopreneurship program to its highest ideals. Through their seeds of support, NGOs like Bayan Academy are given wings to soar greater heights, even beyond the scopes of its divine mission,” he concluded.
