ANGARA URGES DOLE TO BOOST VOC-TECH ENROLLMENT

Senator Edgardo J. Angara told the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to be more aggressive in encouraging high school graduates to enroll in vocational and technical courses to reduce misemployment.

At the budget hearing yesterday, Angara said the number of people who suffer from a disparity between the training they received in school and the kind of jobs in which they end up continues to grow.

"There is an oversupply of graduates in various fields," lamented Angara. "For instance, we graduate so many nurses, but many of them don't get to exercise what they learned in school."

For 2011, the Nursing Licensure Exam registered a 48.1% passing rate, according to Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) chair Teresita Manzala.

According to PRC, the average passing rate across 46 professions for which is administers licensure exams is at 37.5 percent.

"So what happens to students who fail to qualify for professional accreditation? What a huge waste," said Angara.

DOLE Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz said curriculum, salary and geographic location are the top three reasons for job-skills mismatch.

Angara asked the DOLE to conduct periodic manpower studies and make a forecast of the job demand and supply in various fields to provide guidance to students and job seekers.

"We have to change the mindset of parents in getting their children employed in the future," said Angara. "There is a huge demand for vocational and technical professionals, and we have to make them aware of that."

He continued, "By doing a sector-by-sector survey, DOLE will be able to pinpoint the jobs it wants to create. It will make the department's plans much more concrete."

Angara also suggested tie-ups between local government units(LGU's) and local businesses. He cited efforts in his hometown of Baler, Aurora where high school graduates are trained for free on programs accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) through the Aurora Polytechnic College.

"When we train them well, they produce quality work. And when they produce quality work, they make good money," said Angara.