Philippines – Are Senior High School Grads Employment Ready?
Another school year ended and fresh graduates are ready to take on new chapters of their lives and face the ‘reality’. New graduates contribute to the large number of job seekers every year.
Republic Act (RA) 10533, aka K+12 program was signed on May 15, 2013 by the then president Benigno Aquino Jr. The program pertains to the addition of two years in the basic education. Currently, basic education is comprised of a year in kindergarten, 6 years in primary level, 4 years in high school and the added two years for senior high school.
Senior high school aims to provide students the skills they will need as they become part of the labor force. It is equivalent to a technical-vocational course. On-the-job training (OJT) or work immersion is part of the graduation requirement for all Senior High School (SHS) students.
According to statistics, the rate of students who continued education through the SHS program skyrocketed during the pilot year. Even those who dropped out or stopped going to school decided to go back in hopes that the new program will provide them a better chance to find employment despite the lack or absence of tertiary education. The rate of those who continued SHS was higher than the rate of those who enrolled to college the year before.
In relation to this, companies were also encouraged to ease their requirement and qualifications for job opportunities allowing SHS graduates to participate. The industries that require such competency,however, remains limited and competition is as high as expected.
Not long ago, tertiary education also introduced ladderized programs where students can earn certificates for specific competencies every year allowing them to find employment and finish the Bachelors or Associate degrees little by little.
With the growing number of Filipinos eligible for employment, it remains to be seen whether SHS finishers will live up to the expectation of global competitiveness.
Let’s talk with aimtalk teachers
- What’s your opinion about the idea that a college degree provides a better employment opportunity?
- Many people claim that employment has nothing to do with the school you went to or the degree you hold. Do you think that is the case? Why or why not?
- If you were an employer, what qualifications would you require applicants should have? Which factor would you consider first?
Vocabulary
be comprised of: consist of
vocational(adj): teaching or relating to the skills you need to do a particular job
immersion(n): the fact of being completely involved in something you are doing
tertiary(adj): third in place, degree, or order
