MANILA, Philippines--The Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines plans to linke up with high schools to ensure that students get proper guidance on how to choose college courses that will land them good jobs when they get out of school, its officials said.

Its members plan to ?talk to high schools?tell them the trends, what companies require?so high school students can make more intelligent decisions on what courses to take in college,? Henry Schumacher, executive vice president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, said at a news briefing.

Leslie Stokes, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, added that the same tie-up could be formed with colleges and universities to ensure that available jobs matched the qualifications of local graduates.

?There?s a need to match jobs with qualifications,? Stokes said. ?We will work more closely with universities to ensure that the courses they are offering meet the requirements of employers.?

Schumacher said, ?Education here is not good. The level of education has gone down. But in upgrading the level of education, it will take us 10 years to see the fruit. We can?t wait 10 years. If we do, the available jobs now will have already gone somewhere else.?

The Joint Foreign Chambers will hold its second job fair for the year on Aug. 13-14, hoping to fill 3,000 new jobs. With editing by INQUIRER.net