THE PHILIPPINE Business for Education said it supports House Bill 00945 or JobsNext Bill, which promotes lifelong learning and upskilling the workforce to be competent and relevant to take on jobs of the future.

The JobsNext bill, filed by Quezon City Fifth District Representative Patrick Michael Vargas, seeks to encourage and incentivize upskilling and reskilling the workforce by creating a skills voucher program that will help the Filipinos adapt to automation and digitization.

Based on 2020 estimates of the International Labor Organization, approximately 7.2 million wage workers could be displaced by 2025 due to automation and Covid19.

“We thank Congressman Vargas for pushing this bill. With this legislation, the youth will be equipped with much-needed skills to prosper amidst the continuous digitization and automation of industries. We hope that the Senate will also file a similar bill and both Houses will prioritize hearing this much-needed piece of legislation,” PBEd Acting Executive Director Justine Raagas said.

If legislated, JobsNext will not just benefit at least 4.5 million Filipinos but also infuse the economy with a competent and resilient workforce.

PBEd is also working with select local government units to pilot the JobsNext program. PBEd and its partners aims to train at least 1,000 young individuals for skills needed in the future in the fields of data and artificial intelligence, engineering, cloud computing and content production.

“With the current administration’s focus on upskilling the labor force, especially in growth industries, PBEd, with the support of the private sector, underscores the value of lifelong learning for workforce development,” Raagas said.