ANGARA URGES GRADUATES TO FILL JOBS IN ICT SECTOR

Senator Edgardo J. Angara urged Filipino Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) graduates to fill the vacancies in the ICT sector to boost the country's domestic economic activities.

"We have so much growth going on, and we are well on our way to becoming one of the leading ICT and trading hubs in the region. I am calling on our university graduates to stay in the country and take advantage of this opportunity for the Philippines to attain that status without having to resort to hiring foreign consultants," said Angara, chairman of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering (COMSTE).

Angara expressed concern that if IT and ICT jobs in the country are not filled by capable personnel, the country would lose its momentum in achieving a knowledge-based sector of the economy, creating a void in domestic growth.

"In the ICT sector we have more than 10,000 jobs in the ICT sector that are filled by non-ICT graduates," lamented Angara, former President of the University of the Philippines.

In a report made by the ICT panel of COMSTE, data showed that roughly 25% of all l ICT graduates actually end up in the local ICT industry. However, the report stressed that "they receive low hiring turnout due to potential candidates' high expectations about the job, particularly compensation.

The report said Philippine jobseekers today expect much more in terms of benefits and basic compensation, while others expect to be sent abroad immediately for trainings or overseas projects.

JobStreet and JobsDB, two of the biggest online job placement agencies operating in the country, also reported that while the basic entry-level salary of IT professionals range between P20,000 and P35,000, "jobseekers demand for more."

The same groups also cited that Filipino university graduates in IT are more interested in going to Singapore or working for Singapore-based firms where the salary they can receive ranges from P65,000 to P100,000.