K-12 to turn out skilled workers for mSMEs

The new K-12 system in basic and secondary education will turn out graduates with vocational and technical skills and who are qualified to be absorbed by micro and small enterprises, according to officials from the website JobStreet.com.

The expected abundance of high school graduates with blue collar skills several years from now will augment the pool of qualified workers from which local entrepreneurs can draw the manpower they need to expand their operations and improve their productivity levels, the company said.

About 75 per cent of the 40 million Filipino workers are working at jobs that do not necessarily require college education.  They are the laborers and the skilled workers — the work force that sustains industry and keeps the economy growing, according to Yoda Buyco, JobStreet Philippines marketing head.

The 12-year cycle in the new educational system will allow young people to get intensive training in vocational skills such as electronics, information technology, metalworking, welding and wood working.  This is a departure from the old 10-year cycle which turned out unskilled graduates who need to obtain tertiary education to be employable.

College would soon become a choice instead of a necessity for Filipinos.

The lack of applicable training in basic education on the one hand and the inability of many youngsters to go to college has contributed to the high unemployment rate in the country.

“There are available jobs,” Buyco stressed. “It is just that people are not trained for the jobs.”

JobStreet will hold its annual “jobgantic” career fair at the SMX Convention Center  on June 22 to 23.

 

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