Marcos welcomes proposal to create body to address jobs mismatch

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has welcomed the proposal to create a private sector-led coordinating partnership to address the jobs and skills mismatch in the country.

The Presidential Communications Office said the Private Sector Jobs and Skills Corp. is a proposal of the Private Sector Advisory Council-Job sector Group, which Marcos met on Thursday.

“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 President directed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to coordinate with the PSAC-JSG to set the system on how to increase collaboration to reduce the jobs and skills mismatch problem in the priority sectors.

The creation of PSJSC was also endorsed by the Cabinet members present.

They are Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.

A Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) study found that 40 percent of employed Filipinos have academic credentials beyond what is needed in their jobs.

The proposed program looks to upgrade the skills of the Filipino workforce required by industry standards to accelerate the creation of more jobs in the country’s priority sectors.

It is intended 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. —NB, GMA Integrated News