ONE OF THE six key factors that need to be addressed if we are to achieve global competitiveness is the need to improve our human resource competency, especially in science and technology.
This is an important element of the National Competitiveness Council?s underlying Action Agenda, which was developed from the consultations in September 2006 with around 1000 stakeholders representing various sectors leading to a Competitiveness Summit in Malacañang.
Our HR must be strengthened to establish our global competitiveness, not for sending our talents overseas.
Ernie Santiago, president of the Semiconductors & Electronics Industry of the Philippines (SEIPI), bewails the fact that very few engineers and scientists are taking up graduate studies in specialized fields. He has seen several investment opportunities pass us by for Singapore, China, Korea, even Vietnam, due to our shortage of this resource.
Philippines used to be ahead in this aspect but this advantage has been eroded as our youth preferred those courses that will provide opportunities for working abroad and earning in ?dollars?. SEIPI blames this lack of expertise as being responsible for at least three negative characteristics of their industry locally:
? value- added of their products remains low at 15- 20 percent
? few high-tech products/processes are developed locally
? diversion of new and existing investments to more technologically-oriented countries
Santiago is voicing the sentiments of the other industries and services who are aspiring to be key players in the world economy.
Key sectors
The National Competitiveness Council through its Task Force on Global Services and Philippine Services Coalition have identified some sectors where the country can become a key player generating millions of jobs for the Filipinos.
Each sector has the potential for incremental earnings of at least $5 billion annually in the medium term. These promising sectors are: Nature Tourism, Agribusiness, Clean Mining, Health & Wellness, Regional Supply-Chain Servicing, IT-enabled Services. The strengths of the country in these sectors can either be in its natural beauty, resources, culture, location or climate.
However, as Professor Federico Macaranas of AIM never fails to emphasize, the requisite talent of engineers and scientists are important to etch the competitive advantages that will be sustainable.
Senator Edgardo Angara has long been a proponent of S&T, education and agriculture, and has helped highlight this urgency as he heads the relevant senate committees. ?The talents of the few can create opportunities for the many? is now quoted by proponents for S&T expertise.
The situation is now poised for some improvements thanks to the efforts of Secretary Estrella Alabastro of the Department of Science and Technology, UP president Emerlinda Roman and the Dean of Engineering Rowena Guevara who convinced President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to extend her support behind S&T for Global Competitiveness.
In a recent meeting with UP President Emerlinda Roman and the Engineering Dean Rowena Guevara, we were convinced that they have a doable, strategic plan that can yield positive results in the near- to medium-term. Firstly, the country?s seven top engineering institutions agreed that they should form an Engineering Research & Development for Technology Consortium and adopt a 10-year Program under the wings of the Department of Science & Technology.
The consortium is composed of UP Engineering, Ateneo de Manila, Central Luzon State University, De La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, San Carlos University and Mindanao State University-IIT. Between now and 2010, there will be scholarships, through DOST, for 596 masteral and 112 doctorate graduates in various fields of engineering.
A 10-year investment program amounting to P 6.69 billion was identified and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gave the consortium a big boost by committing to allot P3.56 B or more than half of the total budget between now and 2010.
It is clear that the private sector has to carry part of the burden to ensure that the above initiatives become truly meaningful. Faculty development and retention, as well as scholarships for talented graduate students, require financial grants on top of those provided by Malacanang.
Fortunately, the University of the Philippines in celebrating its centennial year, has made such financial grants as part of its priority to strengthen the country?s competency. It is expected that corporations, associations, families and individuals will respond to the call for involvement and participative governance in much the same way that the PPP approach has been pursued successfully in the National Competitiveness Council.
Important links
Equally, much can be done by the private sector in linking the consortium with appropriate institutions abroad for R&D collaboration, equipment grants and exchange professorships. Considering that many of our science and engineering graduates have been key contributors to their host countries? progress, they can provide the useful connections to bring the consortium in touch with prospective partners there.
Recently, the National Competitiveness Council has started a series of dialogues between the UP President and the ambassadors of some key countries who are hosting many of our professionals to identify areas of collaboration.
For instance, there is a university in Glasgow who is conducting a joint research with a local university on medicinal values from plants. If each of our heads of missions in the countries belonging to the top third in the competitiveness league can establish similar linkages, our drive towards economic success will be assured.
We are not looking for aid but for WIN-WIN prepositions since our centers of excellence have chips to bring to the table.
We are convinced that the top Filipino professionals in their respective host countries are only too willing to lend their influence and their expertise to benefit their homeland but only in a properly harnessed and organized way, This strategic initiative of the Technology consortium and the support of the National Competitive Council with the active role of the Philippine missions can identify and progress the many gems of ideas coming from our experts overseas.
The business sector in the Philippines has to define how to keep the hundreds of new PhD and MS graduates engaged in the Philippines. Unless these new graduates are adequately challenged and rewarded, they will follow the many MDs who migrate due to lack of local opportunities for growth.
SEIPI says that their members can employ about a quarter of this number, but what about the rest? Perhaps SEIPI and the sunshine industry/services sectors mentioned earlier can form a small team to craft a work plan to address the number of graduate engineers and scientists that they need.
In summary; the S&T strategy developed by UP, DOST and other centers of excellence looks impressive. However, the private sector needs to be engaged to ensure that such an important program for the country?s global competitiveness is brought to fruition.
Working group
Specifically, a working group has to be formed within the National Competitiveness Council with the following brief; a) craft an action program to define the need for doctorates and masteral graduates and how to keep them engaged in the country, b) interact with networks of S&T Filipinos abroad in the transfer of expertise, resources and in linkages with institutions there as they relate to this S&T Strategic Plan, c) work with DFA and our missions in advanced countries to each target for at least one S&T linkage per year between an institution there and the local consortium, and engage the Filipino professionals to join in this advocacy, d) the business working group to assist/advise the consortium in pursuing the research projects particularly those related to specific companies? lines.
(This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines. The author is Co-Chair of the National Competitiveness Council and Trustee of Institute of Corporate Directors. He previously served as Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry. Feedback at map@globelines.com.ph. For previous articles, please visit .)
