Chef Boy Logro named one of DOLE’s ‘career ambassadors’

Celebrity chef Pablo "Boy" Logro has been tapped as one of 22 "ambassadors" of a job-skills matching program being cooked up by the Department of Labor and Employment.

Logro, who started out as a houseboy and is now host of GMA's "Kusina Master," will show youths that hard work pays off, the DOLE said.

He and the other career ambassadors, who took their oaths in Pasay City last week, accepted the challenge to “continue their dedication and aim higher to further strengthen career guidance, employment generation, and overall competitiveness among youth,” the DOLE said.

"Your role is crucial in making the youth armed and ready in the world of work. Your task cannot be underestimated,” DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz told the ambassadors.

The ambassadors, who took their oaths at the 2nd National Career Advocacy Congress last week, will hold their posts for two years.

"With all his achievements, Chef Boy now wants these shared among young people who wish to follow his footsteps by being one of the country’s career ambassadors (CA) in culinary arts," the DOLE added.

Logro started work at age 14 and pursued culinary arts. He eventually became the first Filipino executive chef and now hosts two TV cooking shows on GMA Network.

He also owns the Chef Logro Institute of Culinary and Kitchen Services.

Career ambassadors

The career ambassadors have the support of the Career Guidance Advocacy Program (CGAP) led by the DOLE and its partners, including the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Baldoz said this is a "first" for the country to identify people whom young people "can look up to in terms of successful career path."

The career ambassadors' roles include:

• actively participating in the implementation of CGAP activities;
• delivering career talks in various activities, such as national and regional career congresses, career guidance week, and convocations; and
• acting as career advocacy speakers in various media.

Career ambassadors are preselected by TESDA and CHED, with the qualifications:

• graduate of any tech-voc program or a bachelor’s degree course who has made a successful career in his/her chosen field
• excellent oral communication and interpersonal skills, willing and able to talk before a large audience
• for TVET career ambassadors, any of the regional or national winners of its annual TESDA Idol Search
• for Higher Education career ambassadors, a grantee of CHED scholarship program
• any celebrity with a wholesome image who is willing to commit his/her celebrity status to the CGAP’s objectives.

— Joel Locsin/BM, GMA News