Better training, internships urged

MANILA, Philippines—The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) urged stronger education and internship programs for job-generating sectors.

These are agribusiness, manufacturing, tourism, IT-Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), housing, infrastructure and logistics, Neda said in a statement.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, who is also Neda director-general, said stronger coordination between government agencies and the private sector would increase chances of job seekers and new graduates to land a decent job.

“The private sector holds the key to the generation of high-quality and sustainable jobs that our country needs. A stronger coordination of the government and the academe with them will help us address the unemployment problem that the country is facing,” Balisacan said.

The Cabinet official said the rate of unemployment was very high, even among college graduates.

In January 2013, the National Statistics Office reported that 608,000 people were added to the labor force from the same month last year.

However, the number of the employed increased only by 606,000, which means that about 2,000 people were added to the ranks of the unemployed.

“The rate of unemployment is very high among college graduates, which partly reflects a mismatch between what is produced by schools and what is required by the market. This also shows that there is insufficient conversation between the schools and the firms,” said Balisacan.

Also, he added that the government was focusing on providing a conducive environment for the private sector to create these jobs.

This is because government resources are limited, with competing demands from various sectors such as health, education, infrastructure and national security.

“Government actions should not substitute for the actions of the private sector. We do not want to solve the unemployment problem with a band-aid solution to create jobs,” said Balisacan.