14.7 million Filipinos in low-paying jobs due to lack of skills

Almost 30% or 14.7 out of the 49 million employed Filipinos earn low wages because they lack the skills required by certain employment, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

According to Sandra Aguinaldo's report on "24 Oras," this includes those who do simple and routine jobs such as cleaning, maintenance, helping in the kitchen, planting, fishing, and many others.

The person engaged in such occupation are among the most vulnerable to suffer when the prices of goods increase, the World Bank (WB) said.

"You have a large number of people. It's 29.9, let's say it's 30 percent of workers who are in the low-skill, low-productivity, low-wage occupations. Some of them are not technically poor, but they are vulnerable to shocks. They can fall into poverty anytime. When there is high increase in the prices of food, they can fall into poverty," WB country director Ndiame Diop.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma agreed, noting that the government is currently working to attract investors to create higher-quality jobs.

“Ang challenge pa rin sa atin ay quality of jobs. It means we have to be able to really provide more secure and more quality and decent jobs to our workers," he said.

The Labor Secretary said low-wage Filipinos should undergo training under the Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA), especially because the more skills an employee possesses, the higher the income he can get.

However, some individuals say they lack the time to attend trainings to hone their skills.

“Paano kikitain ko kung mag training ako. Kung sandali lang, pwede, tapos pagkatapos ng training makapagtrabaho na,” Lorie Grace Pelayo, a jeepney dispatcher said.

“Sa uri ng trabaho ko, mahirap na i-organize ang time. 12 hours du-duty ka, uuwi ka pa tapos, minsan wala na akong oras sa mga anak ko,” Jhing Labaday, a security guard, said.

DOLE said it is prepared to help find employment for those who will embark on additional skills training.

“Meron kaming project na training with livelihood. Habang nagte-train merong assistance otherwise uunahin nila yung pagtugon sa basic na pangangailangan para hindi magutom ang kanilang pamilya,” Laguesma added.—Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News