QUEZON CITY (PIA) -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. expressed support for the proposed creation of the Private Sector Jobs and Skills Corp. (PSJSC), a collaborative effort between the government and the private sector to address the jobs and skills mismatch in the country.
The PSJSC is a proposal of the Private Sector Advisory Council-Job Sector Group (PSAC-JSG), which aims to serve as a private sector-led collaboration between the government, industry, and the academe to generate employment.
"Well, if it's private sector-led, then the data gathering function will actually be almost automatic because it's the private sector that will say 'these are the things we need,'" Marcos said at the meeting with business leaders.
The proposed body eyes to enhance the skills of Filipino workers to meet industry standards. It also intends to support and align industry demands with the government's education and skills training programs to further strengthen the labor force’s skills development efforts.
Marcos directed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to work closely with the PSAC-JSG to develop a system that would increase collaboration to address the issue of jobs and skills mismatch in the priority sectors.
The creation of PSJSC was endorsed by the Cabinet members present in the meeting, which includes Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and Secretary Alfredo Pascual of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
Based on a recent study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), 40% of employed Filipinos have academic credentials beyond what is needed in their jobs.
To solve the jobs and skills mismatch problem, the PSJSC’s mission is to organize a well-coordinated government-industry-academe national movement. It will be joined by NEDA, PIDS, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
The PSAC-JSG recommended the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) among the proposed PSJSC, member agencies of the Philippine Skills Framework Council, and other relevant government entities to coordinate efforts to address jobs and skills mismatch through research, review of academic programs, inventory of job specifications, skills, and training requirements among others.
The PSJSC will be aligned with the Philippine Skills Framework and National Labor and Employment Plan which is anchored in the Philippine Development Plan priorities. (EEDC, PIA-CPSD)
