Senator files bill addressing labor mismatch

IN ORDER to address the rising unemployment, the government needs to institute a redirection of skills development program for its college students, according to Senator Francis Escudero.

Escudero said the country’s labor force grows annually with the new college graduates.

“Yet, firms oftentimes find it difficult to hire people who qualify for the position despite the number of jobseekers all over the country,” the senator said.

He said a mismatch between the Philippine labor market and the country’s graduates exists because “firms demand more experienced workers for existing vacancies.”

Latest data from the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) show that more than 700,000 graduates are expected to join the labor market on top of some 564,000 college graduates who are still looking for jobs.

An Asian Development Bank study said labor mismatch is one of the culprits behind the country’s slow economic growth.

Escudero said the mismatch may be caused by too many highly educated people chasing few jobs in the country.

Because of this, the senator filed Senate Bill 2091 known as the National Career Assessment Examination Act (NCAE) to institutionalize a mechanism that will provide a redirection of skills development program in the tertiary level.

The bill aims to harmonize and match the supply coming from post-secondary institution with that of the demand of the country’s job market.

Under the bill, NCAE would evaluate every high school graduate’s potential to take either a four-year degree program, technical/vocational programs, courses in which they have better aptitude or embark on entrepreneurship.

Escudero said he is optimistic that this bill would address the labor mismatch between the needs of industries and the supply and quality of the country’s college graduates.