HOW friendly and accepting the job market is for Senior High School (SHS) graduates?
Not enough. This is how the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) - an organization of human resource professionals and people managers – assessed the current situation as far as employer’s willingness to hire K-12 graduates is concerned.
PMAP–Davao press relations officer Rachel Pacai de-Guinan told reporters on Tuesday, February 26, during the Davao Business Forum at Dermpath, SM City Davao that majority of employers are still stuck with the idea of hiring only college graduates, thus discriminating SHS graduates.
“We need to change the mindset and educate the employers that SHS graduates are not less qualified compared to college graduates for as long as the applicant is equipped with necessary skills,” she said.
PMAP–Davao vice president Roland T. Suico said there should be a regular forum for employers especially involving Chief Executive Officers (CEO) for them to understand and be more accepting to those who are not college degree holders.
The Philippines, under the K-12 system, produced the first batch of SHS graduates last 2018. The SHS program intends to make all graduates become productive and employable.
However, according to the 2018 study by Philippine Business for Education, only 20 percent of the 70 leading companies in the country are open to hiring SHS graduates.
Meanwhile, JobStreet also revealed in its 2018 Fresh Graduates Report that 24 percent of employers using its website are ready to hire SHS graduates for entry level positions doing administrative and support work to technical, supervisory and managerial levels.
The report said 35 percent are not ready to hire K-12 graduates while 41 percent are still undecided.
Companies who are not yet ready to hire K-12 graduates said that lack of available positions for non-college graduates and their insufficient work experience were the primary reasons on their decisions, while those who were still undecided explained that they are either evaluating the readiness of their companies or are still finalizing the timeline on when they would hire K-12 graduates.
PMAP Mindanao trustee and Del Monte Senior manager for Human Resources Rosame D. Rentuma said that while it’s reasonable for companies to hire degree holders, K12 graduates shouldn’t be discriminated.
“Some companies are hesitant in hiring SHS graduates because they look at someone that can be potentially mold to CEO level. If someone we hire cannot have leadership skills, what will happen if we have open positions for managerial level?” she said.
Rentuma added that the win-win solution may be for an organization to have a developmental program for employed SHS graduates in order for them to be trained further.
PMAP-Davao officials also urged employers to observe no discrimination policy when hiring – age and sexual preferences shouldn’t be a factor.
“But generally, employers always consider attitude or the soft skills more than the hard skills,” Suico said.