IN a bid to address the pervasive job mismatch prevailing in the country, academe and the private sector launched on October 7, the National Industry Academe Council (NIAC) in Makati City.
NIAC Co-Chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. said the partnership aims to create a short− to medium−term agenda to tackle the perennial mismatch between the demands of industry and the graduates. The mismatch has led to high unemployment, even among the college graduates in the country.
“Its goal is to get as many of the right people into the right careers,” del Rosario said.
“NIAC aims to improve market information. We will make market information accessible to students and parents for them to make informed decisions in choosing careers and schools,” he said.
As of April 2014, total youth unemployed (15 to 24 years old) in the country reached 1.46 million.
The Philippines’s average unemployment rate of 16 percent surpasses the Asean’s 12 percent.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the Philippines topped their high and persistent unemployment category for Asean from 2009 to 2013. The ADB report showed the Philippines did not achieve significant gains in addressing its unemployment rate in the five-year period.
As far as academe is concerned, del Rosario said the NIAC will be working on involving industry in higher-education curriculum improvement, national and local human-resource planning and development, and accessibility to market information across various sectors.
Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, co-chairman of NIAC and president of Ateneo de Manila University, said NIAC will serve as the bridge between industry and academe to make the vital connection toward development.
“It will be our nexus or point of encounter where ideas and ideals meet,” Villarin said.
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, co-chairman and chairman of the Group of Companies, said the formation of NIAC is “a response to the urgent need for a closer coordination between industry and academe.”
Despite the huge disconnections between the government and the private sector in pursuing projects, particularly on the infrastructure side, Villarin remained optimistic. “We have what it takes to unite the islands.”
Spearheaded by Philippine Business for Education (PBED), with funding from the United States Agency for International Development mission in the Philippines, NIAC brings together leaders from both industry and academe to help raise industry involvement in higher and technical education.
The NIAC has identified the following education reform areas:
• Capacitating and facilitating industry participation in higher education development;
• Improve governance through working and coordinating with involved government agencies, such as the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development, and the Professional Regulations Commission.
In the news briefing, the NIAC urged the government to be accountable for ensuring a smooth transition to the new K to 12 basic education system.
“The additional years of schooling are seen to have a positive impact on wages and the economy’s annual GDP [gross domestic product] growth,” said Dr. Ricardo Rotoras, president of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges and the Mindanao University of Science and Technology in a statement.
“The new K to 12 curriculum helps our students acquire knowledge, learn skills, and form values that will be beneficial to them, whether they choose to go to college, work or even start their own businesses after high school,” said Dr. Jose Paulo Campos, president of the Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges and Universities.
Zobel said K to 12 is an “absolute necessity” for the country to ensure it will produce skilled and productive citizens.
“There is no way we cannot realign with the rest of the world. We have to put our heads together to solve the problem. K to 12 is a must,” he said.
The NIAC discussed certain benefits of the reform, which include system enhancement, college−ready students, career−ready students, globally competitive graduates, increased demand for quality faculty, lower unemployment and higher wages, and overall economic growth and social inclusion.
NIAC also suggested ways for the government to improve the implementation of the K to 12 system by 2016.
Some of these include facilitating dialogues between various agencies and other interest groups to discuss issues and explore interventions and assistance measures, and creating a unified transition fund in view of the expected losses that will be incurred during the transition.
The NIAC also recommended the government to expedite its process of allowing schools to offer stand-alone senior high-school programs in order to encourage participation of schools.
Aside from del Rosario and Zobel de Ayala, other members of the NIAC industry group are Arthur Tan (Integrated Microelectronics); Edgar Chua (Shell Philippines); Edgar Lacson (Employers Confederation of the Philippines); Nestor Tan (Banco de Oro); Xavier Aboitiz (Aboitiz Equity Ventures); Mariels Winhofer (IBM Philippines); and Ester Garcia (Management Association of the Philippines).
Aside from Villarin, Campos and Rotoras, other members of academe’s group are Fred Pascual (University of the Philippines); Dennis Magbanua (De La Salle University), Jojo Dagohoy (University of Santo Tomas); Tomas Lopez (University of Makati); Reynaldo Vea (Mapùa Institute of Technology); and Vince Fabella (Jose Rizal University).