FILIPINO educators must go beyond knowledge transmission and focus on immersing students in real world job experiences to better prepare them for the future, a panel of thought leaders said in a recent forum.

Seasoned educator Paolo Josef Blando of the National Teachers College believes professors facilitating classroom discussions in higher education institutions should stop being sages on the stage and become the “guides at the side” of learners.

“Because our emphasis is on learning experience and no longer as (being) just transmitters of the content. It’s a difficult task because not a lot of teachers are comfortable moving away from their comfort zone,” said Blando, the program and partnership development officer of NTC.

This would entail building a stronger working relationship with the business sector, which will always be in need of highly skilled, employable graduates, Dr. Danilo Lachica, president of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc., said.

“It’s gonna be hard to imagine how a professor can teach a particular technology subject without firsthand experience. So, you gotta give them that experience by giving them the opportunity to immerse and, conversely, students in technology courses (as well),” he said.

Lachica has practiced this thrust in his capacity as chief of party for the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Development Alliance program of the United States Agency for International Development in partnership with the Unilab Foundation.

Lachica said that a technology-driven future does not have to be viewed as bleak.

“The nature of the job will evolve according to the needs of the environment, but I don’t think jobs will disappear. We just need to upskill the workers,” he said.

Komunidad Global founder and chief executive officer Felix Ayque said it is crucial to develop among future graduates an entrepreneurial mindset, so they can have the audacity to build their own problem-solving startups.

The Komunidad Xchange forum titled “Unlocking Potential: Future Skills and Preparing Future Innovators” was held at the Technological Institute of the Philippines.