To address the job-skills mismatch and the rising unemployment rate in the country, Baguio City Rep. Mark Go has filed a bill that seeks to create a tripartite council composed of industries, the government, and the academe.
Once passed, House Bill 8210 will mandate the Commission on Higher Education to create a tripartite council with representatives from the government, the business sector, and the academe in charge of policies and programs that will bridge the gap between industry requirements and educational curricula, programs, and training.
In his privilege speech delivered before Congress on Dec. 14, Go said comprehensive collaboration between the three sectors is important to understand the gaps between the country’s educational system and the job market. He added that this would also continue creating employment opportunities especially amid economic pressure from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Go cited the country’s October 2020 unemployment rate at 8.7 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s latest labor force survey.
Go said the figure is double the country’s record-low rate of 4.5 percent in 2019, in light of massive layoffs during the extended community quarantine. Among these unemployed, 23.9 percent were college graduates.
Go said almost 800,000 college students graduate every year, yet several remain unemployed or are not hired for jobs that match their degrees. For example, over 200,000 graduated in Business Administration and related courses, yet only 2.6 percent are employed in finance and insurance, and 7.6 percent in administrative and support services.
Go said the multi-sectoral council will study the supply and demand for skills-based labor and help anticipate future industry demands. The council will also determine industry sectors in need of more graduates and skilled workers, the degree programs in demand domestically and abroad, and the industries the country can leverage and capitalize, he added.
He hopes this partnership will lead to up-to-date curricula, higher productivity results, and more programs that are mutually beneficial to the industry and the academe. – Press release
