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Friday, November 18, 2005
Young populace, labor skills give RP its edge
By Aurelia l. Castro
Sun.Star Correspondent
THE country’s young population and its work force’s skills provide promising opportunities for development as it dares to bring itself to the global economic map.
That’s what Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, president and chief executive officer of the Ayala Corp., said in his keynote speech during the opening ceremony of the 19th Philippine Advertising Congress yesterday at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
“Our most important resource, our people, embody the competitive advantage that we have in the world today. Our demographic profile combined with the skills of our work force present a compelling proposition to the global economy,” he said.
Ayala revealed findings that the world population growth has slowed down dramatically over the past decade and is expected to decline more.
“Forecasts by the United Nations and other independent organizations indicate that many nations will shrink in absolute size and the average age of the world’s citizens will shoot up dramatically as the elders of the many parts of the world will outnumber the young. This trend will have profound effects on the distribution of labor in the world, which increasingly will favor nations with comparatively young populations, such as ours,” he said.
As an example, he said the aging population is a problem more pronounced in places, like Japan and Europe.
“In Japan today, about 66 percent are in the working age while 19 percent are in age 65 and above. By the year 2050, this is expected to shift to 54 percent working age and 36 percent elderly.
Their working population is shrinking and their dependents are increasing,” he said.
Projections
The Philippines’ population, on the other hand, has “entered an important stage structurally where those of working age will considerably dwarf those of dependent age (children and the elderly).”
In 2005, the country’s working age population is projected to comprise 62 percent of the population and is forecasted to rise 64 percent by 2010, 65 percent by 2015 and 68 percent by 2025.
“To economists and demographers, this presents tremendous opportunities for economic growth and development,” he said.
However, as we benefit from the redistribution of jobs locally and globally, the work force’s skills should be constantly updated and upgraded to remain competitive in the global market place.
“As an example of how advantages can be dissipated, there has been some lament about the deteriorating English proficiency of our workers as the outsourcing industry is unable to fill about 100,000 positions this year because they could not find enough candidates with sufficient level of English proficiency,” he said.
He added that Philippine nurses have reportedly exhibited high failure rate of up to 84 percent in the spoken English portion of their exams for work abroad. This concern should be addressed urgently, he said.
(November 18, 2005 issue)
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