Short answer. Yes, under Article 49 of the Labor Code, all manpower training programs — whether run by a government agency or a private employer — must be coordinated with the Council, and existing programs must be reported to it. The Council may also regulate reported programs to align them with national development goals.
What the law says
all manpower training schemes as provided for in this Code shall be coordinated with the Council, particularly those having to do with the setting of skills standards. For this purpose, existing manpower training programs in the government and in the private sector shall be reported to the Council which may regulate such programs to make them conform with national development programs.
Labor Code, Article 49 — Administration Of Training Programs. Read the full provision →
The coordination and reporting requirement
Article 49 of the Labor Code is clear about the reach of the Council's authority: "all manpower training schemes as provided for in this Code shall be coordinated with the Council, particularly those having to do with the setting of skills standards." It then adds that "existing manpower training programs in the government and in the private sector shall be reported to the Council which may regulate such programs to make them conform with national development programs." If your company runs a training scheme that falls within the Labor Code's definition of manpower training, that scheme must be coordinated with the Council and must be reported.
What the Council does with reported programs
Reporting is not just a bureaucratic filing requirement. Once a program is reported, the Council has authority to regulate it — specifically to align it with national development priorities. This could mean adjusting skills standards, curriculum content, or the scope of training. Employers running programs in industries that the government has identified as priority sectors may find that the Council takes a more active interest. The purpose is integration: the law wants all training efforts, public and private, pointed in the same direction.
What the Council provides to private employers
Article 49 is not purely a compliance burden. The Council also provides assistance to employers running training programs, including instructor training, entrepreneurship development, and training in vocations, trades, and other fields of employment. If your company is starting a training scheme rather than maintaining an existing one, reaching out to the Council early may give you access to resources and expertise while satisfying your coordination obligation.
One important exception
Article 49 itself carves out a category that is not covered by this provision: "This Article shall not include apprentices, learners and handicapped workers as governed by appropriate provisions of this Code." Training programs for apprentices and learners are governed by their own specific provisions of the Labor Code. If your program falls entirely within those categories, Article 49 may not be the primary rule that applies. The distinction matters because the obligations and protections in those sections differ.