Bilang reaksyon sa pagbaba ng unemployment rate noong Pebrero, binigyang-diin ni Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva ang pangangailangan na i-institutionalize ang enterprise-based education and training program para mapalakas ang pagsusumikap ng gobyerno na makapagbigay ng marami pang trabaho para sa mga Pinoy.
Iniulat ng Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) ang pagbaba ng unemployment rate mula 4.5% o 2.15 milyon noong Enero 2024 sa 3.5% o 1.8 milyon nitong Pebrero 2024, na mas mababa sa 4.8% o 2.47 milyon noong Pebrero ng nagdaang taon. Sabi pa ng PSA, bumaba rin ang underemployment mula sa 13.9% noong Enero sa 12.4% nitong Pebrero 2024.
“We are formulating a comprehensive set of labor policies targeting both the demand and supply sides of the labor market to effectively address the persistent issue of unemployment and underemployment,” sabi ng majority leader.
“Bukod po sa pagsiguro na may trabahong naghihintay sa bawat Pilipino, kailangan rin po nating siguruhin ang kakayahan ng ating mga manggagawa para tugunan ang pangangailangan ng industriya,” dagdag niya.
Inisponsoran ni Villanueva, pangunahing nagsulong ng Trabaho Para Sa Bayan or Republic Act No.11962, ang Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act sa Senado noong Marso 5, 2024. Ang batas na ito ay priority measure ng Marcos administration sa huling Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting.
“We are grateful to the President for recognizing the significance of our proposed game-changing measure and for urging both Houses of Congress to prioritize it,” sabi ni Villanueva.
Layunin ng Senate Bill No. 2587 o EBET Framework Act, na punan ang puwang sa pagitan ng mabilis na pag-unlad ng mga industriya at ang kinakailangang kasanayan o skills ng mga manggagawa.
“This measure is the key to solving the problem of unending job-skills mismatch, which is a factor in the volatility of our unemployment and underemployment rates. Institutionalizing the EBET will address the inability of education to catch up with evolving technology and digitalization of industries in the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0,” ayon kay Villanueva.
Ang enterprise-based training ay nakikitang isa sa mga ‘top driver’ ng trabaho sa mga tech-voc courses, kasama ang In-Company training and Learnership na siyang may pinakamataas na employment rates sa iba pang anyo ng ng pagsasanay, mula 86.26% batay sa 2020 at 2021 Studies on the Employment of Tech-voc Graduates.
Ayon sa panukala, ang EBET Framework Act “will strengthen, rationalize, and harmonize programs, such as apprenticeship, learnership, and the dual training system, under an EBET framework, which shall be competency-based and industry-driven, and with due regard to the rights and occupational safety and health of trainees, through the active participation of employers, trainees, technical-vocational institutions, and the government.”
“The objective is to unify all modes of enterprise-based training programs under one framework to enhance the skills of our new entrants to the labor force and to upskill those already employed, ensuring their employability and meeting the demands of the rapidly evolving world of work,” ani ni Villanueva.
Binigyang-diin ng dating Kalihim ng Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) ang kahalagahan ng pakikilahok ng pribadong sektor bilang malakas na kasosyo sa pagbuo ng mga module at competency standards sa pagsasagawa ng mga programa ng EBET.
“Let our jobseekers learn directly from industry experts. The involvement of our industry partners is crucial in ensuring that skills and competencies align with their requirements,” pagtatapos ng majority leader.
