Bongbong Marcos wants education curriculum review to fix job mismatch

FILE PHOTO: Job seekers flock to Quezon City Hall for a Labor Day Job Fair on May 01, 2018. INQUIRER/JAM STA ROSA

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said the government should check the education curriculum to correct job mismatch in the country.

Marcos Jr. said basic education skills and knowledge should be improved to help students.

“That’s exactly what is happening. That is why we have to look at the curriculum as well. Not only TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) but also even our diploma courses,” Marcos Jr. said during the second Cabinet meeting, according to a statement released by the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS).

The President attended the Cabinet meeting via teleconferencing as he continued his isolation after contracting COVID-19.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said concerns about workers’ skills, competencies, and how the Philippines produces its graduates were discussed during the meeting.

“Among the suggestions to address these standing issues include a reform of the current curriculum since the rise of automation has posed a threat to many jobs,” she said.

Instill basic skills in students

Also during the meeting, the Palace said Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual underscored the need to instill basic skills in students and in turn, the need to review the country’s curriculum, particularly the basic and tertiary education.

The trade chief cited the case of the National University of Singapore, which offers focused but short courses on a particular technology and awards students with micro-credential, which is similar to a diploma but for a short course.

“We’re developing or helping universities develop this system of micro-credentialing because technology is changing very fast. There is a need for workers to update themselves, to reskill or upskill,” Pascual said in the same statement released by the OPS.

Pascual likewise pointed out that countries like Vietnam send teachers to the United States and Europe for advanced studies.

“We will also collaborate with the said entities or authorities, the skills development, reskilling and upskilling of Philippine workforce through our own Philippine Skills Framework,” he said.

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KGA/abc