MANILA — An education advocacy group is calling on businesses and companies to "shift the mindset that favors credentials over competencies" to pave the way for more opportunities for employment, particularly the youth.

Chito Salazar, president of the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), said he hopes businesses would focus more on the skills and competencies of job applicants, instead of merely requiring a college diploma.

"Kaya po nabuo ang K-12 para bigyan nila nang pagkakataon ang mga estudyante na hindi umabot sa college na makakuha rin ng trabaho. So they should be evaluated based on their skill set, not necessarily na college diploma kaagad," Salazar told the media at the sidelines of the USAID Opportunity 2.0 Private Sector Summit.

"At the end of the day, ang mga kompanya naman pipiliin nila ang best person for the job, doesn't matter whether they're senior high school or college graduate, so sana pwede tanggalin ng mga kompanya ang requirement ng college diploma especially for entry level jobs," he added.

Salazar said some companies are already doing this on the ground.

"Actually, to be fair sa maraming companies, marami na pong, tinanggal na nila 'yan. Kailangan lang talaga palawakin. We need to educate the business companies, 'yan po ang isa sa proyekto ng PBEd to educate the business communities about the importance of skills and competencies kaysa college degrees," he said.

"Alam niyo 'yung pangarap ng K-12 na pwedeng dumiretso sa trabaho ang mga senior high school graduates, hindi naman nila kasalanan na hindi sila makakuha ng trabaho dahil wala silang skillset. Kasama doon, mayroon ring responsibility ang mga kompanya  na mag-hire sa mga estudyante as long as they have the skillsets. So we just need to educate the business community na pwede naman talagang mag-hire ng mga estudyante kahit hindi pa umabot sa college," he added.

Salazar believes basic and soft skills should be strengthened to ensure readiness for employment.

'EXPANDING LINKAGES'

Jose Francisco "Kiko" Benitez, director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), is encouraging the public--out-of-school youth, college graduates, and professionals, among others--to apply to TESDA's free courses.

Benitez said the public can inquire in their respective TESDA offices or ask for assistance from local government units.

"We do need to expand further linkages within industries to ensure that we maintain employment. Because industry and work change so quickly, mabilis magkaroon ng mismatch," he told reporters.

"So basically ang trabaho ng TESDA dapat talaga ay iyong paggagawa ng competency standards para makapag-assess kami at certify ng skills. Pero hindi naman namin magagawa ang competency standards kung hindi kami tutulungan ng industriya. So expansion of our industry boards in our industry partnerships to ensure that we can create the appropriate competency standards. Hindi lang hanggang NC2 kundi all the way up to NC5 sana. Kung mangyari iyan at magawa namin, titibay at dadami pa ang mga diploma programs na magagawa ng TESDA so hindi lang sa NC2 or sa senior high school ang magiging programa ng TESDA pero hanggang na rin sa lower tertiary ng CHED (Commission on Higher Education)," he added.

'OPPORTUNITIES 2.0' 

Opportunity 2.0, a program by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and in partnership with the Education Development Center and PBEd, bridges the gap between education and employability among out-of-school youth.

Jill Jarvi, Chief of the Party of the Opportunity 2.0 Project, said they offer various gateways to the out-of-school youth through partnerships with concerned government agencies like TESDA and the Department of Education (DepEd).

This gives the youth a chance to complete their education, and get technical courses to help them get jobs, among others.

"We have tremendous success. We've reached over 83,000 youth. This is just a sampling of the youth who have been able to start up small or micro businesses with our support. They usually go through a training course - BYOB or Be Your Own Boss - and that's in partnership with the Department of Trade Industry. And once they finish the course, they often receive livelihood starter kits from other government agencies, such as PESO (Public Employment Service Office) or DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment)," Jarvi explained.

The program began in February 2020 and is slated to end in February 2025.

Jarvi shared that the renewal or continuation of the program will be up to the USAID, but remains optimistic due to the success of the program.

Young Mindanaoan Hasniah Ala is one of the program's beneficiaries.

She reached up to Grade 11, but had to stop due to "personal reasons".

Now, she is the creator and owner of Moro Delicacies, which mainly sells Kagan delicacies.

"Para hindi rin malimot na may ganyan palang pagkain sa Moro... Ang Kagan po ay isang tribo sa mga Muslim," Ala shared.

"Isa siyang fried rice pancake, deep-fried," she added, describing her product.

Throughout her journey, Ala brings with her this mantra.

"Hindi po ibig sabihin na nadapa ka, dyan ka na lang; hindi ka na babangon. Kasi kung sinabi mo na lang nadapa man kahapon, bukas ay babangon, bakit maghihintay ka pa ng bukas kung pwede namang ngayon babangon ka na? Kung may pagkakataon, bumangon ka na," she shared.