PASAY CITY -- The issues that surround Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) at present center on job-skills mismatch, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said Thursday. 

“Palagi nating sinasabi na hindi trabaho ang kulang - ang kulang ay mga graduates na swak sa trabaho”, Villanueva said during the first Standing Committee meeting of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2). 

Villanueva, who is one of the six Commissioners of EDCOM 2 and is Co-Chair of the Committee on TVET and Lifelong Learning, delivered the Opening Statement during the meeting, noting that nearly two-thirds of TVET graduates still experience training-job mismatch, or work occupations which are not similar to the expected occupation of the training program. 

“Efforts should be geared towards connecting TVET outcomes with employers’ needs, forging linkages between TVET and industry”, Villanueva said. 

During the meeting, Dr. Christina Epetia, Research Fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), also reported a dramatic dip in TVET graduates and assessments caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Dr. Epetia’s report also highlighted the lack of promotion of enterprise-based training, as well as the uptick of college students and graduates enrolling TVET courses, attributed to seeking employable skills and protection from labor market changes. 

Representative Pablo John “PJ” Garcia delivered a summary of the proceedings to close the meeting. “I think the overall goal is to effect real changes in the employability and earning capacity of the learners. So I think that is a simple task that we are faced with in the next few months”, Garcia said. 

Also present during the Standing Committee meeting were EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Advisory Council members Mr. Alfredo Ayala and Ms. Irene Isaac. Standing Committee members also participated, including Fr. Jun Inocencio, President of Unified TVET of the Philippines; Mr. Edicio de la Torre, President of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement; Mr. Charles Kenneth Co, President of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mr. John Thomas Franco, President of Mindanao Technical Vocational Association (minTVET); Dr. Christopher Monterola, Professor at the Asian Institute of Management, and Mr. Lito Tayag, Former Country Managing Director and President of Accenture, Inc. (Philippines).

“Isa po sa paborito kong analogy sa ating education system ay isang hagdan”, Senator Joel said. “Naririto po tayong lahat ngayon upang tiyakin na makumpleto natin at maging sapat ang mga baitang ng hagdan tungo sa isang masayang pagbabago.” (EDCOM 2)