STUDENTS moving up to senior high school are encouraged to take the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) strand to help the country be a leader in innovation and competitiveness.
National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) president Antonio del Carmen described the senior high students taking Stem courses as the “future of the country” with the rise of technological disruptions.
“As the government addresses talent supply through the K+12 education program, we see the Stem strand offered in senior high as an important factor that will help the country produce innovators,” said del Carmen.
He stressed that it’s a must for the country to be innovation-driven to continue attracting investments, pushing the workforce toward higher value services and contributing in the national economic development.
Today’s technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet-of-Things and virtual reality are dependent on people who are Stem-educated.
Stem education is a big help in pushing the country up and being competitive with its Asean counterparts, which are developing their own ICT industries, said the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
Lack of innovation and digital transformation in local government units (LGUs) were some of the factors that pulled the ranking of Cebu from the 7th to 12th spot in the last Tholons survey.
Cib.O managing director Wilfredo Sa-a Jr. said the industry, LGUs, and the academe are now working to regain the top spot and to reshape the workforce, starting off with the senior high graduates, on top of the up-skilling efforts of companies for their existing employees to handle more complicated tasks.
“We are providing all sorts of training for them to be employable in the ICT industry and excel,” said Sa-a.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III underscored the need for the country’s workforce to adapt to technology-driven change in anticipation of new jobs that would require up-skilling workers to prevent them from being out of work as a result of disruptive digital innovations.
Dominguez, in a statement, said that while new technologies “destroy” certain traditional jobs, workers should be prepared for a future of continuous learning to remain relevant and productive in today’s world of disruptive technologies.
“We should embrace innovation. We should look at the bright side, but again, provide safety nets for those who cannot catch up all the time,” said Dominguez during the Governors’ Seminar as part of the activities of the 51st ADB Annual Meeting held last week in Mandaluyong City..
According to the Finance chief, governments should deal with the impact of technology-driven progress on its labor force by encouraging the private sector, through the grant of incentives, to upgrade the knowledge and skills of workers.
Governments should also ensure that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are able to take advantage of disruptive technologies by providing them with access to these new tools, such as faster internet connectivity that would enable them to transact business online or through cashless systems like the use of QR codes. (KOC)