Neda: Youth’s job-skills lack stunts growth

The government has committed to invest heavily in developing the skills of the country’s youth population beginning with basic education, as the prevailing jobs-skills mismatch in the Philippines continues to be a major obstacle in attaining the Aquino administration’s quest for inclusive growth.

“Investing in human capital, especially the youth that comprise a significant proportion of the Philippine population, is a major item in the government’s inclusive-growth agenda,” National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Deputy Director General Emmanuel F. Esguerra said over the weekend.

Based on the October 2012 round of the Labor Force Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office, 48 percent of Filipinos who are willing to work are aged 15 to 34 years old, according to Esguerra.

In the same round, 46 percent of Filipinos who are employed belong to that segment of the population.

Esguerra, however, said that lack of workers with appropriate skills to fill in jobs required by industries remains a major challenge.

This dearth, he added, is evident in industries that are knowledge-intensive and require a high degree of functional flexibility.

“That is why the most important skill is being good at learning, and that is what investment in quality basic education is for,” Esguerra said at the welcome dinner for the second batch of the Youth Leaders for Knowledge and Development sponsored by the World Bank.

Measures are being implemented to help enhance the competitiveness of workers and industries, he added.

“For instance, the rollout of the K to 12 Basic Education Program aims to produce holistically developed learners with 21st-century skills who are prepared for higher education, middle-level skills development and immediate employment or entrepreneurship. This will signal to potential employers that the quality of Philippine labor is and will remain competitive and employable,” Esguerra said.

Inclusive growth, as outlined in the Philippine Development Plan: 2011-2016, is rapid and sustained socioeconomic development that contributes to employment generation and poverty reduction. This is achieved through massive investments in infrastructure and human capital, as well as putting in place measures that support good governance.

Dr. Jose Ramon G. Albert, secretary-general of the National Statistical Coordination Board, said college graduates comprise at least 18 percent of the total unemployed, the third-highest share in terms of educational attainment from 2006 to 2011.

“Most of the unemployed college graduates are those who earned degrees in medical courses, trade, craft and industrial programs, engineering and architectural programs. On the other hand, data gathered by the Bureau of Labor Employment Statistics from the BLES Integrated Survey suggest that the top three hard-to-fill vacancies among professionals for the period January 2009 to June 2010 include 1) accountants and auditors; 2) electronics and communications engineers; and 3) systems analysts and designers,” Albert added.

He cited applicants’ lack of needed competency and skills, expectations of a high salary and lack of experience for the difficulty in finding the right job candidates.

“Undoubtedly, the quality of learning in higher education has its roots in basic education. After all, how can college students absorb what they are taught in college if they did not learn enough in basic education? This is the reason why the Department of Education is beginning to implement the K to 12 program, as a means of making the requisite changes in the number of years of basic education, as well as improving the quality of the curriculum,” Albert said. –Max V. de Leon / Reporter, Businessmirror