Job skills mismatch affecting 3 industries

Job skills mismatch is affecting the growth of automotive manufacturing, electronics sector and tourism, according to a study.

A policy framework developed by International Labor Organization and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines showed that jobs skills mismatch remained a critical concern in the Philippines.

Jobs skills mismatch occurs when education and training institutions tech skills that employers no longer demand or when competencies of graduates do not meet the requirement of employers.

The study attributed the jobs and skills mismatch to a weak labor market information systems, a vicious cycle that affects both demand and supply as well as inadequate training and weak support for science and technology.

The study, conducted in December 2015, recommended that Ecop focus initially on the manufacturing sector because the contributing factors to the job skills mismatch in that sector were more extensive and that manufacturing had greater potential for future value creation.

The study recommended three options, including a market-oriented educational system and training which called for the inclusion of Ecop as a member of the Philippine Qualification Framework National Coordinating Council.

It also pushed for enhancing the existing vacancy database to create fluid labor market information and for a strong innovation culture by reviving the country’s research and development capability.

The study said aside from high occurrence of jobs and skills mismatch, there was a high unemployment rate in the Philippines.  As of July 2014, unemployment state stood at 6.7 percent or 2.8 million individuals.

One of the main reasons or causes of unemployment is the mismatch between the needs of the business sector and the skills of the labor force, it said.

The study said inclusive growth had been elusive due to policy distortions that slowed growth of agriculture and manufacturing over the past decades.

Data from the Labor Department showed job skills mismatch was a major cause of youth unemployment at 15.7 percent and accounted for half of the country’s total unemployment at 7 percent.

At the national level, 1.5 million youth aged 15 to 24 were unemployed, representing 49.8 percent of all unemployed, it said.