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Are higher educational institutions responsive to changes and the demand of

the labor market?
The Philippines is among Asia’s premier labor markets. Currently, about
44.1 million people out of 70.9 million (aged 15 and above) are in the labor force
which makes about 62.2% labor force participation rate. The Philippines
produces over 600,000 graduates each year, enriching the professional pool. The
Philippines is a developing country, which means that there are a lot of
opportunities for college graduates to find a job and be employed and contribute
to the society.
With these many opportunities available, why is it that there still
unemployed and underemployed college graduates? One of the reasons why
some graduates are jobless is because the skills they possessed does not fit to the
employers’ criteria. Personally, I don’t think that I was able to apply hundred
percent of the things I learned from school into my current job. The curriculum
is one of the reason why I think Filipinos lacks skills. The higher educational
institutions should adapt the international standard in order for our country to
produce quality college graduates in order to be competent employees.
Because of lack of skills, some college graduates that weren’t able to land
their dream job settles to be underemployed just to avoid unemployment. A lot
of companies provides training for them that’s why graduates with different
degree is welcome to work in these types of companies. Underemployment is
very common in business process outsourcing where anyone with a degree is
welcome.
Although the HEIs are responding to change, there are still a lot of gaps
to be filled and improved the system. One of these gaps is the job-skills mismatch
which is according to Employers Confederation of the Philippines are causes of: 1.
Weak labor-market information, 2. Job seeker’s career preference is no longer in-

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demand and 3. Inadequate preparation: education, training and guidance. My
generation did not have the K-12 Program which offers stems according to what
a student wants or what the industry demands. We do not have this kind of
advantage during my days, we just simply refer to our parents and what the
society thinks is a good career choice which I think became a big problem of my
generation nowadays. We were forced to choose a field of study we don’t even
know or just choose a course that are trendy at the time because this is not taught
in high school due to lack of K-12. This reason leads to job seeker’s career
preference is no longer in-demand because time is changing due to the advent of
technology.
The HEI’s should communicate with the industry from time to time in
order know what is the demand in the labor market in order to fill the gaps. The
curriculum should be competent and aligned with the international standards.
The HEIs should also focus on ‘On the Job Training’, because this will give them
knowledge and experience first-hand on how to be an employee.

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What do you think about the country’s education systems? What are the good
things about it and what ills the system?
The country’s education system in the country has improved but there is
still a lot of gaps to fill in and problems to be addressed. One of the problems that
needs to be addressed is the deteriorating quality of education which produces
incompetent graduate students. The causes of low quality is due to low
government budgets, poor quality of teachers, poor management of school, poor
school facilities, content of curriculum, inadequate books and science equipment
and shortage of classrooms. These improvements are all essential in order to meet
the needs in student’s way of learning. Other countries have invested a lot in
their facilities and the Philippines is not even close to their standards.
Another problem is the shortage of school buildings which leads to an
overcrowded classroom. These affects greatly in students learning capabilities
because there is only 1 teacher for every 50 students that needs individual
attention. The lack of educational materials and equipment is also another
problem. While other countries are now going digital by providing science
materials and audio visual aids, our students are still sharing books due to short
of supply.
With these problems arising, it’s not a doubt that we are compromising
the quality of education. These problems starts from primary schools and
continues even up to college and the students just accepts this kind of system
because it has become a way of life. Only the privileged students were able to
experience quality education, those who can afford to study in private school. No
wonder why most employers in the country prioritize those who came from top
universities.
The good thing about our education system is that it’s practically cheap
and even for free. Where you could finish studying from primary up to college

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without paying for anything. There are even scholarship offerings from the
government and non-profit organizations that could help those who are in need.
There is still no doubt that there are premiere public schools in our country who
produces quality students, by having high standards. But, the thing is not every
school is as competent as these premiere public schools. The government should
aim to raise this kind of standard all throughout the country to produce quality
graduates.

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Corporate Economic Development

Submitted By:
Mary Chienny Anne M. Hocosol
MBA

Submitted To:
Mr. Napoleon Micu

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