DepEd vows employability boost for Filipino workers

The Department of Education (DepEd) has committed to improve the employability of Filipino workers based on lifelong learning as well as more competitive skills building among Filipino youth and students.

This as DepEd recently convened the 12th Philippine Qualifications Framework National Coordinating Council meeting at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan where officials discussed and approved the PQF-NCC response letter as regards the creation of 22 new plantilla positions.

According to the DepEd, the Council agreed to follow the screening and selection as elaborated in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the PQF Act for the selection of representatives from the industry and economic sectors.

Moreover, a technical working group will be created to identify priority sectors with representation from Council members and mandated agencies incorporating government development plans. In consultation with private sector partners, an initial list of priority sectors included semiconductors and electronics, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, maritime, agriculture, and entrepreneurship.

The DepEd also said the Council set up another TWG to ensure that the PQF framework would be easier to understand and use as well as help individuals move easily and readily between education sectors and the national and international labor markets.

Further, the DepEd will collaborate with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) for the establishment of a permanent secretariat, to be led by an Executive Director V (equivalent to the rank of an Undersecretary).

The said meeting was attended by representatives from PQF-NCC member agencies: the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

Officials from DAP, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) II, and the U.S.-Philippines Partnership for Skills, Innovation, and Lifelong Learning (UPSKILL) Program officials were also present during the meeting. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA Integrated News