North Pasay Café Lab

School-based vocational training and livelihood support for low-income families
October, 2023
Client:
Telstra Foundation Philippines (CSR funder) Implementing partners:
North Pasay High School, training by De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde

Location:
Pasay, Philippines

Project duration:
2016 – ongoing (paused 2020–2022 due to COVID-19)

Sustainable Development Goals:
4, 8, 10


Background

Telstra Foundation Philippines (TFP) is the charitable arm of Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications and technology company. As part of its CSR strategy in the Philippines, TFP has supported innovative education and skills-based initiatives aimed at improving opportunities for disadvantaged youth and their families.

The North Pasay High School (NPHS) Café Lab was the pilot of Dana Asia’s Café Lab model, designed to give senior high school students practical vocational experience through a working school café, while also addressing the root causes of school dropout: household financial insecurity. The project aimed to improve educational outcomes and equip students with employment-ready skills, while also enabling families to increase income through access to microfinance and training.

The challenge

Many students at North Pasay High School come from low-income households where financial pressure leads to irregular school attendance or early dropout. Parents often lacked the means to start income-generating activities, and students had few opportunities for skills-based learning to support employment after graduation.

Our approach

Dana Asia partnered with Telstra Foundation Philippines to develop a dual-impact program:

  1. Student vocational training in baking and food service, developed and delivered in collaboration with De La Salle University.
  2. Parent livelihood support, providing microloans and small business training to enable families to generate additional income.

Key program components included:

  • Establishment of a fully functioning school-based Café Lab
  • Skills training for 268 students in food preparation, customer service, and basic business operations
  • Work experience placements for students within the café environment
  • Disbursement of PHP 2.43 million (AU$67,000) in microloans to over 200 parents to launch small businesses
  • Financial literacy, savings, and life insurance inclusion for families

Impact

192
students trained per year

30
total NCII certificate passers

80%
pass rate of NCII test

200
loans facilitated to families to start small businesses

Lessons learnt

Combining school-based vocational training with household-level income support creates a multiplier effect, improving school retention, family resilience, and future employment pathways. Collaboration with strong local training partners, such as De La Salle University, enhances impact and sustainability.

“As a senior high school student, I learned how to relate to various people, and how to bake. I learnt a lot and keep improving my skills. Being part of the Cafe Lab crew helped me a lot. This is my first hands-on experience learning how to bake, sell and keeping inventory. I want to pursue working in a coffee shop in the future.”

– Jaddaiah Marcella Privado, senior high school student

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