1 M new grads may have no jobs – TUCP

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) over the weekend said fresh graduates would have difficulty finding immediate employment due to additional hiring requirements. Most employers are demanding additional qualifications that would require more training for job applicants.

Manila , Philippines – More than one million college students will likely end up jobless after their graduation a few weeks from now, the country’s largest labor group said.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) over the weekend said fresh graduates would have difficulty finding immediate employment due to additional hiring requirements.

Most employers are demanding additional qualifications that would require more training for job applicants.

“This additional layer in the procedure could mean additional training which entails further cost and perseverance for the applicant. While those who fall through the cracks will become unemployed or underemployed,” said TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay.

Tanjusay also noted that the worsening job-skills mismatch can also derail fresh graduates’ chance to find employment after graduation.

Citing data from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Tanjusay said very few applicants were hired on the spot in government-initiated job fairs for the past two years.

“Out of the 4,239,392 domestic and international job vacancies offered in 3,686 year-round job fairs activities held in 2014 and 2015 nationwide, only 391,088 were hired on the spot out of the 1,286,073 applicants,” he said.

“This job-skills mismatch crisis in the country has been going on and it continues to grow. Competition is getting higher, so employers are putting additional qualifications into the job descriptions,” he added.

Tanjusay also warned that heightened competitiveness at the job market, with little or no adjustment on the part of the learning institutions, make job hunting in the country worse than ever.

Records from the Commission on Higher Education showed there were 656,284 college graduates in March 2015 while records from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority showed there were 1.6 million individuals certified as of October 2015.

The DOLE identified 275 key occupations and 102 hard-to-fill occupations as part of the ongoing efforts to address the country’s high unemployment rate, particularly among the youth. - By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)

TUCP: 'Job-skill mismatch' faces 2016 graduates

Photo by Philippine Star

College graduates this year may find it difficult to land jobs because their skills may not match the employers' requirements, a labor group said Sunday.

"This job-skills mismatch crisis in the country has been on going and it continues to grow. Competition is getting higher so employers are putting additional qualifications into the job descriptions for them to compete. Heightened competitiveness at the job market without or little adjustment at the learning institutions is what makes this crisis thrive," Trade Union congress of the Philippines spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said in a statement.

The TUCP cited data from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that shows only 391,088 out of the 1,286.073 applicants were hired on the spot in 3,686 job fairs held in 2014 and 2015.

Data from the Commission on Higher Education, meanwhile, showed that there were 656,284 college graduates in March 2015 and nearly 1.6 million individuals finished their training courses from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

"With employers adding more qualifications, graduates' credentials will be scrutinized longer," Tanjunsay said, "This additional layer in the procedure could mean additional training which entails further cost and perseverance for the applicant."

Tanjunsay said the increased standards being implemented by employers will eventually lead to graduates facing underemployment or worse, unemployment.

The DOLE has identified 102 occupations that are "hard-to-fill" or job vacancies which employers are having difficulty to fill because applicants do not meet the skills' requirements.

Hard-to-fill jobs include 2D digital animator, agricultural designer, bioinformatics analyst, cosmetic dentist and surgeon, cuisine chef, multi-lingual tour guide, and mechatronics engineer among others.

The department has also listed 275 jobs in-demand. These jobs, according to DOLE, have high turnover and replacement rate.

Such occupations include abaca pulp processor, bangus driver, bamboo materials craftsman, fish cage caretaker, mussel grower and reefman. —Kiersnerr Gerwin Tacadena/ALG, GMA News