SENATOR Loren Legarda is pushing for stronger and more institutionalized partnerships between higher education institutions and industry to better align college education with the country’s workforce needs.

Legarda filed Senate Bill No. 2265, or the proposed Higher Education-Industry Partnership Framework Act, which seeks to establish a Higher Education-Industry Coordination Council and create a more structured system of cooperation among universities, colleges and industry partners.

The measure aims to address the persistent mismatch between the competencies of higher education graduates and the demands of the labor market.

Citing findings from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), the bill’s explanatory note said about one-third of college graduates are employed in jobs designed for workers without a college education, even as hard-to-fill vacancies continue to exist in key economic sectors.

The bill also points to fragmented labor market information, with agencies such as the Philippine Statistics Authority, Department of Labor and Employment, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority collecting data independently.

According to the proposal, the lack of sustained coordination between higher education institutions and industry has contributed to graduate outcomes that may be disconnected from national development priorities and regional labor market realities.

SB 2265 would institutionalize the Higher Education-Industry Partnership Framework as a national governance mechanism for sustained cooperation between the education sector and industry.

It would establish the Higher Education-Industry Coordination Council as the principal body tasked with generating, consolidating and disseminating labor market and skills intelligence relevant to higher education.

The council would also be mandated to publish a National Skills Gap Inventory and an Annual National Skills and Labor Market Intelligence Report.

The measure further proposes the creation of Regional Industry-Higher Education Advisory Boards in every administrative region to ensure that local labor market conditions and the needs of state universities and colleges are integrated into national planning.

The proposed framework would also promote closer coordination in curriculum development, internships and training programs based on labor market demand.

Legarda’s proposal cites recommendations from the EDCOM II Year Three Final Report and the National Education Plan 2026–2035, which call for institutionalized industry-academe coordination at both national and local levels, as well as systems for tracking graduate outcomes and conducting regular area-based labor market reviews.

Legarda said the proposed measure aims to create a coherent, evidence-based framework that connects higher education outcomes with workforce development and national development priorities.