Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya (October 19) -- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will launch this week the Kabataan Information Technology Opportunity (K Ito) which seeks to tap the skills of computer–literate youths and employ them to teach information technology.

The k Ito program is being implementation in partnership with the local government units, academe & Techincal Education and Skills Development Authority(TESDA) Tech/Voc schools & other private agencies in the region in line with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's Executive Order No. 788, "Promoting A Youth National Service" in the country.

The youth mentors will come from Cagayan with 60 youths, Isabela with 80 youths, 30 each for Nueva Vizcaya & Quirino and 10 from the province of Batanes.

Grace Ursua, DOLE regional director for Cagayan Valley said the youth mentors will impart practical Information Technology knowledge and skills to non-IT-literate youths and other disadvantaged sectors through short appreciation and familiarization sessions using a suggested guide.

"They will also assist walk-in clients to get access to online government services. Every mentor will be coaching 8 OSYs/disadvantaged youth totaling to some 1,680 beneficiaries in the region," she explained.

These mentors, Ursua added will be entitled to an stipend of P25.00 for every hour of service.

Acording to the regional executive, the "K Ito" program is an earning and learning project through which the IT-literate unemployed youth shall be tapped as mentor in improving IT literacy among the out-of-school youth and other disadvantaged youth by giving free mentoring sessions and in bringing the government closer to the people with free, supervised internet access to online government programs and services for poor students, out-of-school youth, disadvantaged OFWs, occupationally disabled workers and the informal sector workers including their dependents through information and communication technologies.

Ursua announced that the launching of the Kabataan Ito program will be on October 21, 2009 in Tuguegarao City. During the launching, a Memorandum of Agreement(MOA) signing will be executed with partner agencies and also the release of contracts for the mentors.