About 550,000 to 650,000 fresh college graduates join the country’s labor force every year. However, only about 35% of them are employable or are having the right training and skills to qualify for the job posts they are aiming for according to the National Employability Report—Philippines conducted and released by employment solutions company Aspiring Minds.
The study is based on the New Delhi-based firm’s analyses of qualifications of up to 60,000 graduates from over 80 colleges nationwide. Aspiring Minds started conducting standard assessments for local businesses in 2014.
Findings of the study also reveal that while the country’s top 50 colleges produce better-skilled graduates, over half of employable candidates have completed college in schools that are not included in the list of top colleges. But, Aspiring Minds emphasize, most local employers do not notice those employable graduates most of the time because of their perception that low-tier colleges could not produce reliable graduates. This practice, according to the company, should be modified and hiring methods must shift to one based on meritocracy.
BPO employment
The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is one of the sectors most affected by this low employability, based on findings of the same study. Numerous candidates are not having enough qualifications to apply for inbound customer service, outbound sales, and information technology helpdesk posts.
Photo from CCAP’s FB page
Aspiring Minds points out that candidates’ deficiency affecting their employability is mostly brought about by lack of enough cognitive skills, which the industry sees as an important factor in trainability for any of the identified jobs.
Possible solution
The Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) has revealed experiencing low hiring rate of just about 6% to 10% of all the fresh graduates applying for posts in local call centers. That is why the organization of call center companies in the country have already started collaborating with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to develop curriculum that will help build basic skills that will improve graduates’ employability.
“CCAP continues to strengthen those efforts to improve education and skills of our graduates,” CCAP President Jojo Uligan said. “The study is very helpful in providing detailed analysis and insights useful for our planning for intervention.”
Aspiring Minds will discuss in full all other details about this report on Day 2 of the upcoming Contact Islands, a yearly industry conference to be held on October 11 and 12 at Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa in Boracay Island.
To learn more about the event and to inquire about registration, call CCAP’s Secretariat Office at +63 843 0603.
