ECOP: K-12 grads at ‘lower lane’ of hiring priorities

Amid issues on the employability of senior high school graduates, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) on Wednesday admitted that fresh graduates and those who finished the K-to-12 curriculum were on the lower end of employers’ hiring priorities.

“Talagang realistically speaking, nandun sila sa lower lane of priorities,” ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. told reporters at the sidelines of an event in Pasay City.

(Really, realistically speaking, they are in the lower lane of priorities.)

Ortiz-Luis explained that companies prioritize employees they laid off during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic as the economy recovers.

“Not necessarily because ayaw nila ng (they do not want) K-to-12 [graduates],” he said.

He added that companies also prefer higher education or college graduates and those with long experience in the job market.

“‘Yun ang problema ng mga K-to-12 (That’s the problem of K-to-12),” the ECOP chief said.

Ortiz-Luis said that once there are more investments coming in which would translate to more jobs, a lot of employment opportunities will open for K-to-12 graduates.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed youth (15 to 24 year olds) employment rate in June was estimated at 90.1% or 6.45 million employed youth out of the 7.16 million youth labor force.

The number was higher than the recorded estimate of 88.2% in June 2022 and 89.4% reported in May 2023.

Unemployment rate among the youth was recorded at 9.9% or 711,000 out of the 7.16 million youth labor force.—AOL, GMA Integrated News