Gatchalian urges private sector to provide more job opportunities for senior high school graduates

Senator Win Gatchalian urged the private sector to provide more employment opportunities for Senior High School (SHS) graduates of the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) track.

The Senate Committee on Basic Education chaired by Gatchalian conducted a hearing on Senate Bill No. 2022, or the "Batang Magaling" Act, which seeks to address the mismatch between the skills of K to 12 graduates and the demands of the labor market.

During the hearing, Gatchalian asked the opinion of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) on whether member-companies hire SHS graduates of the TVL track. The senator emphasized that they underwent training for specific vocational jobs and the work immersion program that provided SHS graduates the opportunity to become familiar with the workplace and to apply their competencies in various work environments.

ECOP Legal Services Manager Robert Maronilla said employers continue to prefer employing college graduates over SHS graduates which is the usual case except when SHS graduates have secured a certification of a specialization. Maronilla also suggested SHS students taking the TVL track should be more focused on "hard-to-fill-in" jobs, such as those in the agriculture and automotive sectors.

To encourage cooperation of industry partners, the Batang Magaling Act seeks to include work immersion programs in Section 34 of Republic Act No. 11534, otherwise known as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act" (CREATE), which can boost the employability of SHS graduates. The said provision in CREATE allows an additional deduction from the taxable income of one-half of the value of labor training expenses incurred for skills development of enterprise-based trainees enrolled in public senior high schools, public higher education institutions or public technical and vocational institutions.

"The intention is to give incentives as a form of deductible. So, if you accept senior high school students in your company as part of their work immersion program, that work immersion program can be used as a deductible," Gatchalian said.

"The law's provision intends to encourage private corporations to train senior high school students because they can later use the cost of the training as a deductible," he added.

Gatchalian also asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for inputs on whether private entities find it difficult to comply with the requirements of the said provision. "In my consultations, it turned out that it's very difficult to convince corporations to take in senior high school students. So, we want to understand what the requirements are. Because if the requirements are difficult, that's going to be useless," Gatchalian ended.

Gatchalian hinikayat ang pribadong sektor na magbigay ng trabaho sa senior high school graduates

Hinimok ni Senador Win Gatchalian ang pribadong sektor na magbigay ng mas maraming oportunidad sa trabaho para sa mga Senior High School (SHS) graduates ng Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) track.

Ang Senate Committee on Basic Education na pinamumunuan ni Gatchalian ay nagsagawa ng pagdinig hinggil sa Senate Bill No. 2022, o ang "Batang Magaling" Act, na naglalayong tugunan ang mismatch sa pagitan ng skills ng K to 12 graduates at ang mga hinihingi ng labor market.

Sa pagdinig, tinanong ni Gatchalian ang opinyon ng Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) kung kumukuha ang mga miyembro nila ng SHS graduates ng TVL track. Binigyang-diin ng senador na ang SHS graduates ng TVL track ay sumasailalim sa pagsasanay para sa mga vocational jobs at work immersion program na nagbibigay ng pagkakataon sa kanilang hanay na maging pamilyar sa trabaho at mailapat ang kanilang mga kakayahan sa iba't ibang work environments.

Amindao si ECOP Legal Services Manager Robert Maronilla na patuloy na mas pinapaboran ng maraming kumpanya ang mga nagtapos sa kolehiyo kaysa sa mga nagtapos sa SHS maliban na lang kung sila ay nakakuha ng sertipikasyon ng isang specialization. Iminungkahi din ni Maronilla na ang mga mag-aaral ng SHS na kumukuha ng TVL track ay dapat na mas nakatuon sa mga "hard-to-fill-in" na mga trabaho, tulad ng mga nasa sektor ng agrikultura at automotive.

Upang mahikayat ang kooperasyon ng industry players, layong isama ng Batang Magaling Act ang work immersion program sa Section 34 ng Republic Act No. 11534 o mas kilala bilang Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), na maaaring magpalakas ng employability ng mga graduate ng SHS. Ang nasabing probisyon sa CREATE ay nagpapahintulot ng karagdagang bawas sa taxable income ng kalahati ng halaga ng gastos sa labor training expenses na natatamo para sa skills development ng mga naka-enroll sa public senior high schools, public higher education institutions o public technical and vocational institutions.

"Ang intensyon ay magbigay ng mga insentibo bilang isang paraan ng deductible. Kaya, kung tatanggapin ng isang kumpanya ang mga senior high school students bilang bahagi ng kanilang work immersion program, ang work immersion program na iyon ay maaaring gamitin bilang deductible," sabi ni Gatchalian.

"Ang probisyon ng batas ay naglalayong hikayatin ang mga pribadong korporasyon na sanayin ang mga mag-aaral sa senior high school dahil maaari nilang gamitin ang gastos ng pagsasanay bilang isang deductible," dagdag niya.

Tinanong din ng senador ang Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) kung nahihirapan ang mga pribadong kompanya na sumunod sa requirements na nakasaad sa naturang probisyon ng batas. "Sa aking mga naging konsultasyon, lumalabas na mahirap kumbinsihin ang mga kumpanya na kumuha ng senior high school graduates. Dahil dyan ay nais nating maintindihan nang husto ang requirements. Kung hindi rin naman nasusunod ang requirements, wala ring silbi," pagtatapos ni Gatchalian.