One of the six commissioners of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) reiterated on Wednesday his call to address issues that surround Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) that center on jobs-skills mismatch.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, who co-chairs the Committee on TVET and Lifelong Learning, noted that nearly two-thirds of TVET graduates still experience training-job mismatch, or work occupations which are not similar to the expected occupation of the training program.

“Efforts should be geared towards connecting TVET outcomes with employers’ needs, forging linkages between TVET and industry,” Villanueva said in a statement.

During the EDCOM 2 first Standing Committee meeting, Dr. Christina Epetia, Research Fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), reported a dramatic dip in TVET graduates and assessments caused by the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

Epetia’s report also highlighted the lack of promotion of enterprise-based training, as well as the uptick of college students and graduates enrolling TVET courses, attributed to seeking employable skills and protection from labor market changes.

“Palagi nating sinasabi na hindi trabaho ang kulang, ang kulang ay mga graduates na swak sa trabaho (We always said that the job is not the problem, the problem is the lack of graduates who are suited for the jobs)”, Villanueva said during the meeting.

“Isa po sa paborito kong analogy sa ating education system ay isang hagdan. Naririto po tayong lahat ngayon upang tiyakin na makumpleto natin at maging sapat ang mga baitang ng hagdan tungo sa isang masayang pagbabago (One of my favorite analogy in our education system is a stairway. We are all here now to make sure that we shall complete and make the stairs enough for a joyful change).” he added.

Also present during the Standing Committee meeting were EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Advisory Council members Mr. Alfredo Ayala and Ms. Irene Isaac. Standing Committee members also participated, including Fr. Jun Inocencio, President of Unified TVET of the Philippines; Mr. Edicio de la Torre, President of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement; Mr. Charles Kenneth Co, President of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mr. John Thomas Franco, President of Mindanao Technical Vocational Association (minTVET); Dr. Christopher Monterola, Professor at the Asian Institute of Management, and Mr. Lito Tayag, former Country Managing Director and President of Accenture, Inc. (Philippines). (PNA) 

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