If projections of the labor sector are to be believed, the one million students who are graduating from college this year face a bleak future.
This projection is not meant to rain on anyone’s parade, nor to dash our young graduates’ hopes of becoming productive citizens of our nation. This projection is simply based on facts or the point of view of the labor sector.
The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said the number of unemployed Filipinos remains high at a rate of 6.6 percent this January, compared to only 5.7 percent one year ago.
It was explained, however, that the job losses were mostly in the agriculture sector, which were greatly affected by two strong typhoons in December and January.
The ALU-TUCP forecast placed the reason for the high unemployment rate due to skill- mismatch, low entry level minimum wages, contractualization, and unsafe workplaces.
Talk of skill-mismatch. This has been staring at the educational sector in the face for a long time now. Yet, every year, schools produce the same kind of graduates who may not necessarily know anything better than what the previous graduates had known in their time.
How many of our graduates this year are proficient in using the computer? How many of them know how to drive a four-wheeled vehicle? How many of them are proficient in oral and written communication? Employers need people who can do the work of three people for the salary of one. Are we seeing that kind of a graduate this year?
It is sad to note that many schools are in a position to help address this concern due to their autonomous or deregulated status. They could make and tailor-fit courses that can give students that edge in life for them to be competitive.
On this note, the K-12 program, which teaches technical courses to high school kids, is a promising development. Soon, all graduates will have a life skill they could use or earn from upon graduation from college. Or even from high school. But we will have to wait a few more years to see its fruits.
Our graduates could enroll in TESDA courses. With life skills, the future won’t be so bleak at all for our graduates. If you are a multi-skilled person, you are on your way to the top! All these fears of the labor unions about an increasing jobless rate would soon become a thing of the past, thanks to advances in technology and communication.
So, congratulations, dear graduates! Never stop learning. And here’s to a not-so-bleak future ahead!
