The labor force of the country has increased to 45 and a half million in July 2019, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) bared.
Although there is a rise in the employment sector, 5.4 percent or 2.4 million Filipinos in the labor force remain unemployed.
The highest case was recorded in Calabarzon, followed by National Capital Region (NCR) and Central Visayas.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) assured this is no cause for worry since the agency has continued to implement its training programs.
“Hindi [naman], kasi we try to maximize training natin. This is what TESDA is doing… ‘Yung pag-reduce ng poverty natin, TESDA has big part on that because when you address poverty, you have to train first,” TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapena said.
TESDA shared its preparation efforts, to include drafting of the new curriculum, technical vocational education and training to welcome the fourth industrial revolution, or the influx of technology in various sectors.
The agency has a total of 2.2 million graduates which it plans to increase with 400,000 more graduates this year. It said its priority is the construction industry which remains to have a high demand for workers.
The Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) said that modernization can change the perception of the public on the industry.
“So, ‘yung sinasabi na building info management, use of 3D in the design, importante na ‘yung kabataan – lalo na yung low-skilled – [ay] ma-introduce rito para makita nila how different it is, na ‘di siya (construction industry) dirty and dangerous job,” BLE Director Dominique Tutay said. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio
