Ni SAMUEL P. MEDENILLA

Lumalaki ang posibilidad na walang mahahanap na trabaho o babagsak bilang mga “underemployed” ang milyun-milyong graduate ngayong taon bunsod ng paghihigpit sa kuwalipikasyon na itinatakda ng mga kumpanya sa bansa.

“An estimated 1.2 million college and vocational graduates this month will find difficulty in getting a job due to a growing mismatch between their training and the job skill,” ayon kay Alan Tanjusay, tagapagsalita ng Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa).

Aniya, lumala ang problema sa job mismatch sa kasalukuyang termino ni Pangulong Aquino dahil bigo ang mga kolehiyo at unibersidad na maibigay ang nararapat na skill na hinahanap ng iba’t ibang industriya.

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“Competition is getting higher so employers are putting additional qualifications into the job descriptions for them to compete. Heightened competitiveness at the job market without or little adjustment at the learning institutions is what makes this crisis thrive,” pahayag ni Tanjusay.

“With employers adding more qualifications, graduates’ credentials will be scrutinized longer. This additional layer in the procedure could mean additional training which entails further cost and perseverance for the applicant,” dagdag ni Tanjusay.

Ito, aniya, ang dahilan sa patuloy na pagbaba ng bilang ng hired-on-the-spot sa mga job fair ng Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) sa nakalipas na dalawang taon.

“Out of the 4, 239,392 domestic and international job vacancies offered in 3,686 all year-round job fairs activities held in 2014 and 2015 nationwide, only 391,088 were hired on the spot out of the 1,286.073 applicants,” ayon sa opisyal.

Sinabi rin ni Tanjusay na batid na ng labor department ang problema at gumawa na rin ito ng ilang hakbangin upang maresolba ang naturang isyu.

Kabilang, aniya, rito ang Jobstart program na nagbibigay sa mga high school student ng comprehensive career guidance at on-the-job-training experience upang matugunan ang skills requirement ng mga kumpanya.