From February to March 2023, the CFSI CLEP team conducted local labor market and livelihood assessments at the local government unit (LGU) and community levels. This was conducted in the form of key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) across the eleven municipalities and twelve service sites (barangays) covered by the project. The objectives of the assessments were to gain and improve knowledge of the local labor market conditions in the project areas and to define specific skills training for employment and community-based livelihood.

Results of the FGDs and KIIs were documented, consolidated, and an assessment report with information from other sources such as ministries of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was drafted to provide a holistic picture of the livelihood and local labor market conditions. The results of these activities will be presented again to the communities for review and validation.

 

In May 2023, CFSI also conducted Community Validation of Asse   ssment Results activities. This is a community-based activity conducted in each service site of the CLEP, where FGDs were conducted as part of the local labor market and livelihood assessment. Assessment results per site which cover information from the area’s respective local government units, Joint Tasks Forces on Camps Transformation (JTFCT), women, youth, former combatants, indigenous people, representatives from Barangay LGU and completers of the Camps of Learning Project (CLP) were all present for comments, refinement, and validation. Suggestions, additional information, and proposed changes in the data presented were noted and incorporated in the assessment report, which is a crucial basis for selecting the specific skills training to be conducted.

CFSI, supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), is currently implementing the Communities for Learning and Employment Project (CLEP) in the six “previously acknowledged” camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and their areas of influence. #