During my conversation with NGCP last week about their project delays, they mentioned a curious thing. In addition to right-of-way problems, they have a serious manpower problem: they lack geodetic engineers. Apparently, the shortage of geodetic engineers is nationwide. And yes, they can also use a lot more engineers, from electrical, mechanical to civil.
They told me that even if they have been actively recruiting young engineers, the average age of their engineers is getting older. Unfortunately, they said, they only become the training ground and, in a few years, their young engineers are pirated by other private energy companies. Maybe they just have to match offers.
But the point is clear that there should be no reason why our college graduates cannot get good jobs if they select the right course. It has also been clear for quite a long time that engineering is a sunrise career. Any qualified graduate is guaranteed a job here or abroad.
Our problem is… There are more jobs available than there are qualified jobseekers. This is what they call job-skills mismatch.
For example, there are many nurses working in call centers even if there is a shortage of nurses in our hospitals, public and private.
Why would a registered nurse prefer to work in a call center rather than a hospital? For the same reason that most local nurses would like to work abroad. They get decent pay and benefits.
Another example of job-skills mismatch is overqualification. A recent study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) revealed that 40 percent of Filipino employees are overqualified for their jobs… they have academic credentials beyond what is needed in their jobs, and that they were only earning five percent more for finishing their studies despite being relatively overeducated for their positions.
“The high prevalence of overeducation has important implications. Previous studies found evidence to support the connection of overeducation, diminished job satisfaction, and large wage penalties that signal inefficiencies in the labor market,” the PIDS study highlights.
Jobseekers accept jobs that require less skills than what they trained for, most likely because they took a college course with little demand in the job market.
“Investments in time, money, and other resources do not translate to improved employment outcomes or higher wages,” the study observed.
That only means our young people coming out of high school should be properly advised by their guidance counsellors on deciding which college course to take. Or learn a high demand skill that does not require a college degree. In the US, plumbers and electricians earn more than the regular liberal arts college graduates.
“Job-skills mismatch in the country is a huge problem stemming from years of disconnect. It is largely contributory to unemployment and underemployment in the Philippines, which prevents us from fully maximizing the potential of our young workforce. Employers are hiring and many vacancies remain unfilled. Yet, many people still have difficulty finding jobs,” said Justine Raagas, executive director of Philippine Business for Education (PBEd).
Unemployment involving a mismatch of the skills of unemployed workers and the skills required for available jobs is called structural unemployment. If skills of an employee are not completely aligned with the assigned work, the employee’s work productivity, motivation, and development are affected.
“Job mismatches are one of the primary reasons that new hires don’t stay in certain positions long-term, which translates to high turnover rates for the company,” according to the JobStreet country manager.
A study by Deloitte revealed that about 70 percent of the Filipino Gen Zs and 63 percent of millennials are experiencing burnout. Unhappiness in the workplace due to job-skills mismatch is taking a toll on their mental health. Gen Zs are those born from 1995 to 2003 (currently 19 to 27 years old) while millennials are those born between 1983 and 1994 (28 to 39 years old).
PBEd has launched a program, A Future That Works (AFW), that seeks to ensure job-seekers are equipped with what they need to succeed in the labor market. AFW is supporting four sectors: analytics and artificial intelligence, semiconductors and electronics, food processing, and healthcare.
Actually, we also have to look into the future. Current jobs may no longer be available as technology advances. We must plan ahead to assure our young people are properly educated in skills with available jobs.
For instance, what happens to our vibrant BPO industry with AI and ChatGPT?
An old college friend from UP who is now an entrepreneur based in New York recently told me our BPO industry, an important job creator and dollar earner, is in danger of losing its market.
He should know. He runs a BPO business here and he said he can see the change happening faster than many of us here realize. The first victim of this new technology is in customer service chat support, he said. “AI software can now automatically answer many chat questions. Our tech boys are finding ways to use ChatGPT for making software codes we can sell to clients. Chat support staff hiring is on freeze.”
The local BPO industry, through the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), is trying to show a stiff upper lip. But they admit that “GenAI will inevitably change the way business services are performed and delivered, bringing a significant shift in the dynamics between jobs, skills, and talent.”
In a statement, IBPAP said there is an urgent need to continuously upskill existing talent and university students, and instill in them the importance of lifelong learning. They are looking to focus on areas that “will include programming, data science, and data analytics, including data and AI ethics.”
IBPAP said they intend “to enable the industry and workforce to move up the value chain. We want our skilled talent to perform higher-value work rather than mundane and repetitive tasks, so they continue to be competitive and in-demand… Our success in this endeavor will be critical in generating 1.1 million new jobs for Filipinos, a goal that we had set for the Philippine IT-BPM industry when we launched Roadmap 2028 last year.
So many real problems in education and our highest officials are focusing on ROTC.
Boo Chanco’s email address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco.