Bohol First District Rep. Rene Relampagos has secured a P3.6 million scholarship allocation under the Special Training for Employment Program (STEP) as reported by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in a meeting last Friday. The amount includes training cost, training allowance, assessment fee, and entrepreneurship cost, shall be enjoyed by 232 scholars. STEP is a community-based specialty training that will address the specific skills needs of the communities and promote employment, particularly through entrepreneurial, self-employment, and service-oriented activities. There are nine courses available for district one. These are: Perform Preventive Maintenance on Motorcycle Mechanical and Electrical Systems; Masonry; Perform Single unit Plumbing Installation and Repair Maintenance Works; Carpentry; Dressmaking; Tailoring; Shielded Metal Arc Wielding (SMAW) NC I; and Hilot.

There are 23 available slots for each course, with the exception of SMAW NC I which may have a maximum of 48 trainees. Training shall commence sometime in September 2014. Arrangements with the training providers are still made for the final venue of the training, with the exception of SMAW NC I, which will be held solely in the training center in Inabanga town. Relampagos said he is supportive of technical vocational skills development among his constituents.Henotes that these programs help lower unemployment rates by giving members of the district employment opportunities, strengthen the labor force with highly skilled workers, and aid in economic development.