THE SENATE will now start the deliberations on a measure seeking to comprehensively address the problem of job-skills mismatch and employability of the Filipino workforce by harnessing private sector training initiatives.

This was after Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva sponsored Senate Bill No. 2587 or the proposed Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act.

The measure is the accompanying measure to the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act which was enacted into law last September 2023.

The bill aims to enhance and provide a framework for bridging all enterprise-based education and training modalities, including existing programs on apprenticeship, leadership, and Dual Training Systems.

“Kasabay ng ating mga inisyatibo upang lumikha ng dekalidad na trabaho, mahalaga pong tugunan ang pangangailangan ng kakayahan na tugma o akma sa mabilis na pagbabago ng teknolohiya sa produksyon sa bansa,” Villanueva said in his sponsorship speech.

Villanueva, the former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority chief, noted the prevalence of job-skills mismatch contributes to the country’s unemployment and underemployment rates, which are at 4.3% and 12.3% respectively, based on the 2023 preliminary report of the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“Hindi po bago ang konsepto ng enterprise-based training. Base sa mga datos na ating nakalap at sa karanasan, basta’t ginawa ang pagsasanay sa loob ng mga pagawaan o sa loob mismo ng kumpanya garantisadong akma ang skills sa trabaho,” he said.

Based on the 2020 and 2021 Studies on the Employment of Techvoc graduates, enterprise-based training modes In-Company Training and Learnership have the highest employment rates over other forms of training, ranging from 86.26% to 91.14%.

The Majority Leader noted that there have been successes in some industries when it comes to EBET which can be replicated in other industries.

“Katulad na lang po ng training program na isinagawa ng TESDA at ng Semi-Conductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, halos lahat ng mga trainees o 97% ay nabigyan ng trabaho. Ang training program naman ng TESDA at ng IT-Business Process Management, umabot sa 70.7% ang agad nabigyan ng trabaho,” he added.

Under the proposed measure, TESDA will take the lead in implementing the framework, including the setting of policies and guidelines, program registration, quality assurance, and evaluation of the conduct of EBET programs.

This bill also seeks to enhance the participation of the private sector as an indispensable partner in addressing job-skills mismatch by increasing their participation in the identification, prioritization, and development of competency standards and qualifications.

“Laging magkakaroon ng pagbabago sa larangan ng trabaho. Ang hamon po sa atin ay siguruhin na ang mga polisiyang gagalawan ng ating mga kababayan ay lilikha ng dekalidad na trabaho at magtatawid sa mga manggagawa patungo dito,” he ended.