Feb 2, 2017 - Labour Demand and Supply Status at Subic Bay Freeport Zone 32. 3.1. Economic and Job ...... 2 Years Auto-Diesel Mechanic. â«. 1 Year HRM.
Assessing adequacy of labour supply for Subic Bay Freeport Zone Locators’ Workforce requirements 1
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Contributing report by Maria Asuncion A. Ortiz for Subic Bay Project of AECOM International Development; field work conducted on June 25 and July 1-3 2008.
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Content Outline Introduction 1
Population Profile 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
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2.1 2.2
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Philippine Labour Force, growth and general trends Skills Profile of the Philippine Labour Force - Enrolment in Higher Education Institutions - Graduates of Higher Education Institutions - Enrolment and Graduates of Technical-Vocational Institutions - Certified Skilled Labour vs. Local and Overseas Job Demand Labour Force Participation, Employed Persons and Educational Attainment
In Focus: Labour Demand and Supply Status at Subic Bay Freeport Zone 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4
3.5
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Economic and Job Growth function of SBFZ Current and Emerging Demand for Labour at SBFZ - Business-Critical Skills Areas for Locators - Redevelopment Critical Sectors, Occupations and Skills Set for SBFZ Supply of Labour for SBFZ - Total Workforce and Distribution by Business Category - Locational Sources of Labour for SBFZ Institutional Support: Meeting SBFZ Demand for Labour (Indicative Capacities) - SBMA Labour Department - PESO of Olongapo City - TESDA-Zambales - Columban College - Lyceum at Subic Bay - AMA Computer University – Olongapo City Campus - Mondriaan Aura College - Freeport Institute for Research, Science and Technology - Gordon College - Holy Infant College Labour Demand vs. Supply at SBFZ: Stakeholder identified trends, issues and challenges
Summing-up: Labor Supply Scarcity and Surpluses: Implications for Target Priority Sectors in Redeveloping JAFZA
References
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Philippine Population, across regions and provinces Central Luzon Population, across provinces and cities in the region Zambales Province Population, across municipalities Olongapo City Population, across barangays
Labour Supply Profile
2.3
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Introduction This report on assessing the availability and adequacy of labor supply to meet the workforce requirements of the current and emerging locators of the Subic Bay Freeport necessitated the following steps 1. Generate relevant secondary data establishing local population and workforce status, link it to the overall population and workforce status in Region III and the country and assess operational implications to locators in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. 2. Identify explicit and implicit critical skills requirements of the locators based on given list of candidate sectors for JAFZA intervention, results of AECOM survey with SBF locators and feedback from key people from the SBMA Labor Services Department. 3. Assess general capacities of select local education and training institution to link up generally with industries and particularly those in SBFZ, invest in industry-responsive course offerings, produce the number and quality of graduates to meet the workforce needs of current and potential future SBFZ locators 4. Assess capacities of labor market support institutions like the SBMA Labor Services Department, the Public Employment Service Office of the Olongapo City, the Provincial Office of the Technical Education and Skills Development AuthorityZambales to tap local and non-local labour to meet the workforce needs of current and future SBF locators 5. Identify common concerns and challenges facing labour supply / matching institutions and on-going and planned future interventions to address labor supply-demand gaps 6. Summarize findings and generate conclusions and recommendations. The report is thus organized accordingly by incorporating key data generated from the study process, presenting it in the order as outlined in the preceding page, and making reference to a labor-market interventions framework structured by Aldaba and Sescon (ILO: 2007) in understanding the factor-elements and the outcomes of a duly functioning labor market system. It is mindful of the three important clusters of factors which include the following: supply side factors, demand side factors, institutional support factors and environmental factors which are briefly defined and elaborated below.
A. Supply side factors These factors actually affect the quantity and quality of labor supplied in the market. Quantity is usually determined by increases in the working age population which includes persons from 15 years old and above. The number of young people that can be tapped in the market may also be constrained by geographical barriers or high costs of transportation. Meanwhile, quality of youth labor is determined by the availability of formal and non-formal education and training. Mobility of the labor especially the youth labour from one sector to another may also be constrained by the quality of education they are able to obtain. To summarize, here are the various factors: 1. access to and quality of primary, secondary and tertiary education – this is an important factor for determining the capacity to work by the youth; the first two provides the foundation for further learning and training; the level of education is also a key determinant for entry level wages or incomes
3 2. technical and vocational education - this consists of specialized skills training outside tertiary education although it could serve as entry point 3. population growth – affects the working age population and the labor force pool; creates tight competition in the labor market with a glut 4. other factors affecting human capital like health and nutrition – there are required states of health and nutrition in order for a worker to be productive 5. labor mobility across regions and sectors – there may be physical or transportation barriers to geographical mobility while retraining may not be feasible in a movement from one sector to another
B. Demand side factors Demand for youth labor is actually a derived demand. Only with increasing markets will production expand and need more labor. Thus anything in the macroeconomic level that will induce greater investments can possibly increase the demand for labor. Of course, the actual demand will also be dependent on the technologies used by specific firms, particularly whether they are more capital intensive or not. At the same time, firms demanding labor may be classified into formal or non-formal ones particularly in the SME sector. 1. over-all economic growth – there should be an increased demand for goods and services so that production also increases; jobs are generated as a consequence of the need to increase workers to realize increased production; the quality and type of growth is also essential as “jobless growth” is possible 2. sectoral growth (agriculture, manufacturing, and services) – depending on market factors and government programmes and policies, certain sectors become the drivers of national economic growth 3. technological choices of firms – global and national competition plus the availability of key inputs and resources determine a firm’s choice of technology and production system 4. quality of work demanded often is dependent on where the source is – from the informal or formal sectors; during recessions, the informal sector also expands to absorb transferees from those laid off in the formal sectors
C. Institutional factors: While market supply and demand forces operate to determine the level of employment of adult and youth employment there are also institutional factors which may affect such outcomes. At the firm level, internal labor market arrangements may be the norm for hiring new employees. At both the firm and sectoral levels, trade union activities may also affect who and how many would be employed. At the regional levels, wage policies particularly on the setting of minimum wages may also impact on employment. Government policies affecting the firms’ investments and productivity may also affect employment e.g. access to financing and other fiscal incentives. Information asymmetries may be corrected by policies relating to job market placements, job fairs and information dissemination. At the firm and community level, different kinds of discrimination may also affect actual hiring policies. To summarize, here are the factors: 1. firm-level hiring and firing practices – well established protocols and practices may as well determine the employment prospects for the young and adult working age groups
4 2. mechanisms to improve labor market information so that search costs for both worker and firms are reduced 3. national government policies on employment and wages, standards and benefits; also macroeconomic, industrial and investment policies; its budget allocation in terms of human capital services 4. local government policies promoting local economic development and employment generation; also programmes affecting employability of the youth and adults 5. mechanisms for labor matching including job placements, job fairs, academe-industry cooperation, etc 6. gender and age discrimination because of accepted socio-cultural practices at both the local and national levels 7. firm level practices on on-the-job training and apprenticeships, 8. unionism and collective bargaining agreements that affect employment 9. mechanisms for credit access for micro and small enterprises 10. advocacies for equal access and non-discrimination in the labor market There are also various stakeholders in the labor market and each has some direct or indirect impact on the supply and demand for labor. However, coordinated action among these stakeholders creates synergies that promote better employment opportunities for the larger and key population age groups with focus on the younger age brackets. Key stakeholders include the government, employers, unions, NGOs, academe, youth organizations, microfinance institutions and the households, etc. Coordination failure among stakeholders may also affect the labor market. For example current labor mismatches resulting into high unemployment and long search processes are due to the inability of the academe and the private sector to coordinate. At the local level, the difficulty of generating jobs is a consequence of the inability to share information among national agencies and local government planners.
D. External Factors Factors outside the control of government may also influence the employment levels of the adult and youth population groups. These would include the openness of foreign labor and goods markets. The former may induce labor migration affecting the local supply of labor while the latter may increase demand for labor as exports increase. Donor programmes impacting on government policies and programs related to the labor market may also have an indirect effect on employment. To sum up: 1. open markets for both goods and services can create demand for labor through increased exports production and labor migration 2. development aid programmes affecting human capital investments or labor demand The report however will make reference more on select labor supply and institutional factors to address the questions that would establish clear indications of the adequacy of labour skills supply for Subic Bay Freeport Zone and identify measures that labor supply, demand and matching institutions can activate to effectively and sustainably form, engage and retain labor supply needed by the investors and locators.
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1
Population Profile
1.1 Philippine Population, across regions and provinces Total Population and Historical Growth Rates Based on the Census of Population and Housing conducted decennially by the National Statistics Office, the total population of the Philippines as of May 1, 2000 was 76,504,077 persons. This was higher by 7,887,541 persons or about 10.31 percent from the 1995 census (September 1, 1995 as reference date). It was 10 times the Philippine population in 1903 when the first census was undertaken. The expansion of the Philippine population reflected a 2.36 percent average annual growth rate in the period 1995-2000. This figure recorded a slight increase from a declining growth rate which started in the first half of the seventies. The last increase recorded in population growth rates was during the intercensal period 1948 to 1960 at 3.07 percent. The recent growth rate was 0.04 percentage point higher than the annual growth during the early part of the nineties. If the average annual growth rate continues, the population of the Philippines is expected to double in 29 years.
Similarly, the number of households in the country edged up in 2000. This indicated an increase of 1,770,753 households over the 1995 census. The average household size in 2000 was five persons, a slight decrease from 1995 (5.07 persons).
National Population Distribution and Concentration 1.1.1
Over half (55.97 percent) of the total population (76.5 million) resided in Luzon:
1.1.2
The three most populous regions were located in Luzon: Of the 16 regions in the
Luzon is one of the three major island groupings of archipelagic Philippines and has seven component geo-political regions and these include the National Capital Region. It was followed by Mindanao (23.70 percent) with six regions and Visayas (20.30 percent) with only three regions. country, three of the most populous ones are found in Luzon. The Southern Tagalog Region (combining Region IV-A and IV-B) was the biggest in terms of population size that registered a total of 11,793,655 persons accounting for 15.42 percent of the Philippine population. The National Capital Region (NCR) followed with 9,932,560 persons or 12.98 percent of the total population. Central Luzon (Region 3) where the
6 Subic Bay Freeport Zone is located registered the third largest population with 8,030,945 persons or 10.50 percent of the total population. The three regions combined comprised 38.90 percent of the total population. Table 1 provides aggregate and sex-disaggregated data on the population size for the entire country as well as a comparison of the same data by region. Table 1: Population Distribution by Region: 2000 Region
Population
Percent
Philippines NCR – National Capital CAR – Cordillera I - Ilocos II - Cagayan Valley III - Central Luzon IV - Southern Tagalog V - Bicol VI - Western Visayas VII - Central Visayas VIII - Eastern Visayas IX - Western Mindanao X - Northern Mindanao XI - Southern Mindanao XII - Central Mindanao XIII - Caraga ARMM – Muslim Mindanao
76,504,077 9,932,560 1,365,412 4,200,478 2,813,159 8,030,945 11,793,655 4,686,669 6,211,038 5,706,953 3,610,355 3,091,208 2,747,585 5,189,335 2,598,210 2,095,367 2,412,159
100.00 12.98 1.78 5.49 3.68 10.50 15.42 6.13 8.12 7.46 4.72 4.04 3.59 6.78 3.40 2.74 3.15
Male
Female
38,524,267 4,877,842
37,979,810 5,054,718
2,108,238
2,092,240
4,045,882 5,933,436 2,392,601 3,128,863 2,859,723 1,844,572 1,566,743
3,985,063 5,860,219 2,294,068 3,082,175 2,847,230 1,765,783 1,524,465
2,648,187
2,541,148
Source: NSO, Various Censuses of Population and Housing Sex-disaggregated data generated only for the top ten populous region.
1.1.3
Central Luzon figured one of the regions with highest population growth rate:
1.1.4
Zambales and Bataan did not figure among high population growth provinces:
There were five regions in the country which registered a population growth rate higher than the national level of 2.36 percent. These regions were the ARMM or the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, 3.86 percent; Southern Tagalog (Region IV), 3.72 percent; Central Luzon (Region III), 3.20 percent; Central Visayas (Region VII), 2.80 percent; and Southern Mindanao (Region XI), 2.60 percent. On the other hand, NCR had the lowest growth rate with 1.06 percent.
Among the 78 provinces in the country, Pangasinan (2.43 million persons) of Region I (Ilocos) was the largest in terms of population size; followed by Cebu (2.38 million
7 persons) of Region VII (Central Visayas), Bulacan (2.23 million persons) of Region III (Central Luzon), Negros Occidental (2.14 million persons) of Region VI (Western Visayas Region) and Cavite (2.06 million persons) of Region IV-A (CALABARZON) followed. All aforementioned provinces surpassed the two million population mark. Of the 21 provinces with more than one million population majority or 13 provinces were in Luzon, five in Visayas and three in Mindanao. On the other hand, the four smallest provinces with less than a hundred thousand population size were Batanes (16.5 thousand persons) in Region I, Camiguin (74.2 thousand persons) and Siquijor (81.6 thousand persons) both of Northern Mindanao and Apayao (97.1 thousand persons) of Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Zambales and Bataan Provinces, the nearest and the major source of professional, highly skilled and less-skilled labour supply of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, did not figure among the high population growth provinces. But neighboring provinces within the Region III – Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tarlac – were listed among the 21 provinces that surpassed the one million population mark. Table 2: Provinces with more than One Million Population: 2000 Rank
Province
Population
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Pangasinan Cebu* Bulacan Negros Occidental* Cavite Laguna Batangas Rizal Nueva Ecija Pampanga* Leyte Iloilo* Camarines Sur Quezon* Zamboanga del Sur* Isabela Bohol Negros Orriental Albay Tarlac Bukidnon
2,434,086 2,377,588 2,234,088 2,136,647 2,063,161 1,965,872 1,905,348 1,707,218 1,659,883 1,614,168 1,592,336 1,559,182 1,551,549 1,482,955 1,333,456 1,287,575 1,139,130 1,130,088 1,090,907 1,068,783 1,060,265
Excluding highly urbanized city/cities Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing
1.1.5
Olongapo City did not figure among the high population growth cities: Across the highly urbanized cities, three out of 12 cities in the National Capital Region and one city in Mindanao have surpassed the one million population mark. Quezon City had the largest in terms of population size, contributing 2.17 million to the Philippine population; followed by Manila City (1.58 million persons) and Caloocan City (1.18 million persons). The aforementioned three cities classified as highly urbanized cities are located at the National Capital Region. One other hand, a highly urbanized city outside of the NCR is located in Davao City in Mindanao which also broke the one millionth population mark at 1.15 million persons.
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National Population Configuration 1.1.6
Half of the population were below 21 years: The Philippine population had a median
1.1.7
Sex ratio was 101.43: Of the total population in 2000, about 38.5 million or 50.36
1.1.8
Dependency ratio down to 69.04: The age structure of Philippine population (Figure
1.1.9
Females outnumbered males in voting population: The number of voters in the
1.1.10
More than half of the female population belonged to the reproductive age group:
1.1.11
There were more single men than women: About 43.89 percent of the total
age of 21 years, same as the median age five years ago. This meant that half of the population were below 21 years old.
percent were males while 38.0 million or 49.64 percent were females. Males outnumbered their female counterparts with sex ratio of 101.43 males for every 100 females. Sex ratio in 1995 was recorded at 101.4. There were more males than females in the age groups 0-19 and 25-54 years. On the other hand, females dominated in the rest of the age groups. 3) was a typical broad base at the bottom consisting of large numbers of children and a narrow top made up of relatively small number of elderly. Young dependents belonging to age group 0 to 14 years comprised 37.01 percent. The old dependents (65 years and over) accounted for 3.83 percent, while 59.16 percent comprised the economically active population (15 to 64 years). The 2000 dependency ratio was 69.04. This meant that for every 100 persons in the working age group (15-64 years), they had to support about 63 young dependents and about six old dependents. In 1995, the dependency ratio was at 69.60.
Philippines was posted at 43,331,229 persons or 56.64 percent of the total population. There was an almost 50-50 percent distribution by sex, with the females (50.11 percent) outpacing slightly the males with 49.89 percent.
Out of the 38 million females in the Philippines, the total population of women in childbearing ages (15-49 years) was recorded at 19.4 million or 51.04 percent. The highest percentage of which, was in the 15 to 19 years age group (10.53 percent). population 10 years and over were single, while 45.66 percent were married. The remaining 10.45 percent were either widowed, separated/divorced, with other arrangements or with unknown marital status. Among the single persons, the proportion was higher for males (52.94 percent) than for females (47.06 percent). In contrast, the
9 proportion for widowed was higher for females (75.72 percent) than for males (24.28 percent).
1.1.12
Females dominated higher levels of education: Among household population aged
1.1.13
Over one-fourth of the population were Tagalogs: The three prominent ethnic
five years and over, 41.89 percent had attended/finished elementary education. This proportion was lower as compared to that in 1995 (43.37 percent). The percentage who had attended/graduated high school posted an increase from 27.85 percent in 1995 to 28.35 percent in 2000. Among academic degree holders, there were more females (57.89 percent) than males (42.11 percent). The same is true for post baccalaureate courses whereby the proportion was higher for females (58.27 percent) than for males (41.73 percent).
groups in the Philippine archipelago were Tagalog (28.15 percent), Cebuano (13.14 percent), and Ilocano (9.07 percent). The remaining 49.64 percent were either Bisaya/Binisaya (7.57 percent), Hiligaynon/Ilongo (7.56 percent), Bikol/Bicol (6.00 percent), Waray (3.36 percent), and the rest as other ethnic groups. Region III, IV and the NCR are essentially the Tagalog speaking Regions. Table 3: Household Population 5 years old up by Highest Educational Attainment and Sex: Philippines, 2000 Highest Educational Attainment Philippines No grade completed Preschool Elementary High School Postsecondary College undergraduate Academic degree holder Postbaccalaureate Not stated
Household Population 5 Years Old and Over 66,666,156 3,962,330 1,542,884 27,924,770 18,903,125 2,561,983 6,685,949 2,876,616 267,713 1,940,786
Male
Female
33,466,674 2,020,113 785,154 14,417,828 9,356,856 1,327,956 3,264,681 1,211,446 111,709 970,931
33,199,482 1,942,217 757,730 13,506,942 9,546,269 1,234,027 3,421,268 1,665,170 156,004 969,855
Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing
Future Growth Trends The Philippine population would continue to grow, increasing from 76.5 million, as of the latest population census conducted in May 2000, to 141.7 million in 2040, according to the Medium Series of the 2000 Census-based population projections. This means that 65 million people would be added to the nation's population between 2000 and 2040, which is a span of 40 years, even if the average annual growth rate is projected to drastically decline from 2.34 percent during the 1990-2000 period to around 1.0 percent during the 2030-2040 period. The population is projected to grow by 1.95 percent in the period 2005-2010, from 85.3 million in 2005 to 94.0 million in 2010. The nation's population would also relatively become older as it is projected that child-bearing rate by women in the country will continue to decline and the survival rates of all age groups will improve. In 2005, the age group 0-14 accounted for 35.0 percent of the nation's total population. By 2010, this age group would comprise 33.0 percent and by 2040, 23.1 percent. Meanwhile, 4.3 percent of the Filipinos would be 65 and over by year 2010, and by year 2040, 9.7 percent of them would be in the same age group.
10 Among the regions, the CALABARZON or the Southern Luzon IV-A (excluding Southern Luzon IV-B) covering Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces) is projected to have the largest population by 2010, significantly surpassing the NCR growth rate. By that year, CALABARZON would have 11.9 million people, while the NCR, 11.6 million. By 2040, CALABARZON would have 18.5 million, and Central Luzon, by then would be the second largest region, would have 15.0 million. Cordillera Administrative Region would continue to have the smallest population with 2.7 million by year 2040. Meanwhile, MIMAROPA (Southern Luzon IV-B constituted of the Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan Island Provinces) would remain as the fastest growing region, as it is expected to have an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent in 2005-2010 and 1.6 percent in 2035-2040. The data would be useful in projecting the size of the secondary and tertiary level schooling age population, the size of the potential high school and tertiary level graduates, and the size of the working youth and adult age populations as indicative of the immediate and long term national labor supply base for the workforce requirements of a particular regional or local economy.
1.2 Central Luzon Population, across provinces and cities The Region, Component Provinces and Key Cities Central Luzon was the third biggest region in terms of population size among the 16 regions in the Philippines, contributing 10.50 percent to the 76.5 million population of the country as recorded in Census 2000. It has for its component provinces Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales and two highly urbanized cities (Angeles City and Olongapo City) whose aggregate population has steadily grown to 8,030,945 persons based on the 2000 Census of Population and Housing (Census 2000). This was up by more than one million persons as compared to the 1995 Census of Population (POPCEN). As earlier displayed in Table 2 under Section 1.2, four of the six provinces of the region figured in the 2000 Census as among the high population growth provinces among the 78 provinces across the country. Bulacan ranked third accounting for 2,234,088 persons, Nueva Ecija ninth accounting for 1,659,883 persons, Pampanga tenth accounting for 1,614,168 persons and Tarlac twentieth accounting for 1,068,783 persons. Zambales and Bataan were respectively short of reaching the half million population mark in 2000.
Regional Population Growth Rates and Household Size 1.2.1
Annual population growth rate for the region surpassed the national figure: For
the period 1995 to 2000, the annual population growth rate of Central Luzon was 3.20 percent, higher than that of the 1990 to 1995 period (2.12 percent), even surpassing the national annual population growth rate of 2.36 percent. If the current regional annual population growth rate continues, the population is expected to double in 22 years, increasing on the average, by more than 200 thousand persons a year or about 29 persons per hour.
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1.2.2
Central Luzon household size down to 4.91 persons: The number of households in the Central Luzon region increased to 1,632,047 as compared to 1,365,990 households in 1995. This does not necessarily translate to growth in regional size of population for however the average household size recorded in Census 2000 was 4.91 persons, lower than the 1995 figure of 5.07 persons and the national average of five persons.
Regional Population Configuration 1.2.3
Median age was 22 years: Central Luzon had a median age of 22 years. This meant
1.2.4
Sex ratio was recorded at 102: In Census 2000, the recorded sex ratio was 102 males
1.2.5
Dependency ratio was 64: The proportion of young dependents (0 to 14 years) was
that in 2000, half of the population were below 22 years old. In 1995, the median age was 21 years. Among the six provinces and two highly urbanized cities, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tarlac had a median age of 22 years, while Bulacan, Zambales, Angeles City and Olongapo City with 23 years. for every 100 females, the same sex ratio recorded in 1995.
35.3 percent, while the proportion of old dependents (65 years and over) accounted for 3.9 percent of the regional base.
The proportion of economically active population (15 to 64 years) made up 60.8 percent of the total population. The overall dependency ratio in 2000 was 64.49. This meant that
12 for every 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years, there were about 64 dependents (58 young dependents and six old dependents).
1.2.6
Nine in ten were Roman Catholics: Majority (86.09 percent) of the population of
1.2.7
More literate population groups in Olongapo City: The proportion of household
1.2.8
Average number of children ever-born was three: On the average, the number of
1.2.9
Most of the overseas workers were males: In 2000, there were 135,802 or 1.69
Central Luzon were Roman Catholics. Iglesia ni Cristo (4.39 percent) and Aglipayan (1.94 percent), followed, while 7.25 percent belonged to other religious affiliations.
population 10 years old and over in Central Luzon who were able to read and write a simple message was 94.80 percent. Male (94.83 percent) literacy rate was almost the same as that of the female (94.76 percent). Olongapo City had the highest proportion of literates with 98.74 percent. Bataan and Bulacan followed, with 95.93 percent and 95.87 percent, respectively. children born to ever-married women in this region was three, almost the same as in all provinces except for two highly urbanized cities having an average of two children. The provinces with the most number of ever-married women with eight or more children ever born were Zambales (2.62 percent) and Tarlac (2.44 percent). percent overseas workers as compared to 110,792 overseas workers in 1995 POPCEN. The figures have been increasing with the increasing special recruitment activities being undertaken by the Public Employment Service Office for overseas employment agencies along with their client employers. More than half (54.61 percent) of these overseas workers were males.
1.2.10 The population of overseas workers in 2000 had a median age of 33 years. This meant that half of the overseas workers were below 33 years old. Female overseas workers had a median age of 29 years, clearly depicting they are younger than their male counterparts (36 years).
1.3 Population of Zambales Province, across municipalities An Overview of Zambales Province Zambales along with its component towns is the primary source of workforce for industries located in Olongapo City and the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. It is located at the western coast of Central Luzon. It has common boundaries with the province of Pangasinan on the north, provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga on the east, and the province of Bataan on the south. The China Sea lies on the west. The terrain is irregular as the whole Zambales Mountain Range traverses the whole length of the province. The mountains occupy the eastern and central portions while the coastal plains lie along the west. It is dry in the area from November to April, and wet from May to October. The mountains offer some protection from the storms coming in from the east but it is vulnerable to the southwest monsoons and tropical cyclones. The province of Zambales was first administered as part of the province of Pangasinan. Although it lay along important sea routes between Manila, Ilocos and China, it remained sparsely settled. In the late 18th century, Zambales was constituted as a separate province covering an area from Subic up to Alaminos
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Provincial Population Size, Growth Rates and Share in the Region 1.3.1
Provincial total population: The province of Zambales registered a total population of
1.3.2
Provincial population growth rate up by 2.32 percent: The 2000 population figure
1.3.3
Household size down to 4.7 persons lower than the regional household size: The
1.3.4
The province ranked sixth in terms of population size in Region 3 Among the six
1.3.5
Subic2 was the largest component municipality in terms of population size:
433,542 persons in the year 2000, up from 389,512 persons in 1995.
gave the province an average annual growth rate of 2.32 percent, an increase of 1.34 percentage points from the 1990 to 1995 period. number of households was registered at 91,613, an increase of 10,695 households over the 1995 figure. This gave an average household size of 4.7 persons, a slight decrease from 1995 (4.8) and lower than the national average (five persons).
provinces (Bataan, Bulacan, Nueve Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales), and two highly urbanized cities (Angeles City and Olongapo City) in Region 3, Zambales ranked sixth in terms of population size. This province contributed 5.4 percent to the 8 million population of the region. At the national level, Zambales shared 0.57 percent to the Philippine population of 76.5 million as recorded in the Census 2000.
Among the thirteen municipalities in Zambales, Subic, which comprised 14 percent of the total provincial population, was the largest in terms of population size. Most of the employees of SBMA, schools and the locators according to key informants come from this part of the province.
The second largest towns in terms of population size were Sta. Cruz (11 percent), Botolan (11 percent), and Masinloc (9 percent). Iba, the provincial capital and Castillejos comprised 8 percent of the total population each. The rest of the municipalities had less than six percent share each.
2
Subic is a town-municipality which is distinct from the Subic Bay Freeport Zone
14 Table 4: Total Population Distribution by Municipality and Sex: Zambales, 2000 Total Percent Population Zambales 433,542 100.00 Botolan 46,602 10.72 Cabangan 18,848 4.35 Candelaria 23,399 5.40 Castillejos 33,108 7.64 Iba (Capital) 34,678 8.00 Masinloc 39,724 9.16 Palawig 29,983 6.92 San Antonio 28248 6.52 San Felipe 17,702 4.08 San Marcelino 25,440 5.87 San Narciso 23,522 5.43 Sta. Cruz 49,269 11.36 Subic 63,019 14.54 Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing Municipalities
Male
Female
219,144 23,557 9,521 12,060 16,669 17,421 20,263 15,298 14,116 8,881 12,778 11,841 25,082 31,657
214,398 23,045 9,327 11,339 16,439 17,257 19,461 14,685 14,132 8,821 12,662 11,681 24,187 31,362
Provincial Population Configuration 1.3.6
Population peaked at the age group of 5-9 making it a very young population:
Based on the 2000 census, the population count of Zambales province pyramid peaked at the age group of 5-9. Combining the group’s population size with those of the age groups 1-4 and 10-14 made the population of the province very young. These same population groups currently (2008) constitute today’s schooling age groups of the province anticipated to complete secondary, mid-level and tertiary courses to potentially fill in the immediate and long-term future labor requirements of the SBF locators and non-locators within the province. Table 5: Total Population by Age Group, Sex and Sex Ratio: Zambales, 2000 Age Group Zambales Under 1 1 to 4 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 to 39 40 to 44 45 to 49 50 to 54 55 to 59 60 to 64 65 to 69 70 to 74 75 to 79 80 & Over
Total Population 433,542 10,587 41,759 51,529 49,761 43,744 37,244 33,098 32,873 28,674 25,492 20,652 17,269 11,425 10,185 6,998 5,171 3,441 3,640
Male 219,144 5,346 21,406 26,431 25,485 21,975 18,971 16,951 16,798 14,777 13,095 10,446 8,686 5,568 4,856 3,286 2,243 1,445 1,379
Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing
Female 214,398 5,241 20,353 25,098 24,276 21,769 18,273 16,147 16,075 13,897 12,397 10,206 8,583 5,857 5,329 3,712 2,928 1,996 2,261
Sex Ratio 102.2 102.0 105.2 105.3 105.0 100.9 103.8 105.0 104.5 106.3 105.6 102.4 101.2 95.1 91.1 88.5 76.6 72.4 61.0
15
1.3.7
Median age was 23 years: Zambales, had a median age of 23 years. This meant that in
1.3.8
The overall dependency ratio in 2000 was 66: In 2000, the 0 to 14 age group made up
2000 half of the population were below 23 years old. The median age in 1995 was 22 years Male population outnumbered their female counterparts with a sex ratio of 102 males for every 100 females. There were more males than females in the age bracket 0 to 54 years; more females than males in the age group 55 years and over. about 35 percent of the total population while the population aged 65 years and above comprised 4.4 percent. The economically active population aged 15 to 64, thus made up 60 percent of the total population in Zambales.
The overall dependency ratio in 2000 was 66. This meant that for every 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years, there were about 66 dependents (59 persons aged 0 to 14 years were young dependents; and 7 persons aged 65 years old and over were old dependents). The 2000 ratio was lower by five persons than the ratio reported in 1995 (71.33).
1.3.9
Most were Tagalogs: Most (37.84 percent) of the household population in Zambales
classified themselves as Tagalog. About 27.5 percent considered themselves as Ilocano and 27.0 percent as Sambal/Zambal. Other ethnic groups included Aeta/Ayta (1.8 percent) and Cebuano (1.1 percent).
1.3.10 Lower proportion of married persons in 2000: Most (46.1 percent) of those who were 10 years old and over were married, lower by 2 percentage points compared to the 1995 figure of 48.1 percent. The proportion of single on the other hand, was 41.8 percent. The remaining twelve percent were either widowed, divorced/separated, with other type of arrangement or with unknown marital status.
1.3.11
Housing unit occupancy rate was almost 100%: There were 90,079 housing units in Zambales, of which 90,057 were occupied, or almost a hundred percent occupancy rate. This registered a ratio of 1.02 household per occupied housing units or a ratio of 4.81 persons per occupied housing units. Majority of occupied housing units were single houses (94.2 percent). Duplex and multi-unit residential houses accounted for only 3.02 percent and 1.41 percent, respectively.
1.3.12 Majority of the province’s population have completed elementary/high school:
A large majority of the provincial population of ages 5 years old and over have completed elementary education (38.84%) followed by those who completed high school or secondary level education (34.40%) and finally by those who are working on and have completed their post-secondary education (18.8%) as graduates of baccalaureate or technical-vocational programs.
16 Table 6: Household Population (5 years up) by Highest Educational Attainment and Sex: Zambales, 2000 Highest Educational Attainment Zambales No Grade Completed Pre-School Elementary High School Post Secondary College Undergraduate Academic Degree Holder Post Baccalaureate Not Stated
Household Population 5 Years Old & Over 380,571
Percent Share to Household Population
16,189 8,555 147,848 130,944 23,631 30,850 13,414 1,762 7,378
Male
Female
100%
192,034
188,537
4.25% 2.24% 38.84% 34.40% 6.20% 8.10% 3.52% 0.46% 1.93%
8,365 4,309 72,484 68,561 13,259 15,188 5,473 704 3,691
7,824 4,246 75,364 62,383 10,372 15,662 7,941 1,058 3,687
Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing; Percentage computation supplied by AECOM consultant
1.3.13 The province has limited stock of graduates with full baccalaureate and postbaccalaureate qualifications: Considering the small number of academic degree
holders (3.52%) and those with post-baccalaureate education (3.52) of the province indicates the constraint of the province for graduates who can readily meet the numerical and functional requirements of a skilled and professional workforce generally of the industries in the province and particularly the locators in Subic Bay Freeport Zone
1.4 Olongapo City Population, across barangays An Overview of Olongapo City Olongapo City was converted into a city on June 1, 1966. The area was once the site of the biggest U.S. naval base (Subic Naval Base) in Asia for over three quarters of a century. The base was turned over to the Philippine government when the Americans left in 1992 and converted mainly into an industrial and tourism zone under the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). Since then, the huge area left by Americans in the city including docking facilities and international airport has been attracting foreign investors. It was recently classified highly urbanized under Section 452 of the Philippine Local Government Code of 1991 providing that a city may be classified either a highly urbanized city to operate independent of or a component of the province, that is Zambales in this case, in which it is geographically located. A city classified highly urbanized as a requirement must have at least a minimum population of 200,000 as certified by the National Statistical Office and with the latest annual income of PHP50 Million based on 1991 constant prices and as certified by the city treasurer. A city which do not meet the above requirements shall be classified a component city of the province in which it is geographically located. (Sec. 452-b)
City Population Size and Configuration 1.4.1
City population size: The city as of 2000 actual population count has reached the total number of 194,260 persons. It has currently surpassed the 200,000 population mark.
17
1.4.2
Santa Rita was the largest barangay 3 in terms of population size: Among the 13 barangays, Santa Rita is the largest in terms of population size accounting for 17.23% of the city population. Table 7 below provides an account of the population of the top 10 of the 13 barangays in Olongapo City based on actual population count in 2000. Table 7: Total Population Distribution of Top Ten Barangays in Olongapo City: 2000 Barangay
Total Population
Percent
194,260 8,718 10,058 10,305 10,340 12,348 15,816 18,167 18,725 21,536 33,477
100.00 4.49 5.18 5.30 5.32 6.36 8.14 9.35 9.64 11.09 17.23
Olongapo City New Kalalake East Tapinac Mabayuan Kalaklan Old Cabalan Barreto New Cabalan East Bajac-bajac Gordon Heights Santa Rita
Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing
1.4.3
The city population pyramid peaked at the age group of 5-9: Based on year 2000 census, the population pyramid peaked at the age group of 5-9 which was a trend parallel to that of the Zambales province. Combining the group’s population size with those of the age groups 1-4 and 10-14 made the population of the city very young.
The same population groups currently constitute today’s schooling age population of the province anticipated to complete within the next few years secondary, mid-level and tertiary schooling all factor elements being present within to potentially fill in the immediate and long-term future labor requirements of the SBFZ locators and industries within the province. Table 8 below provides an aggregate and sex-disaggregated account of the city population distribution by age group Table 8: Total Population by Age Group, Sex and Sex Ratio: Olongapo City, 2000 Age Group Olongapo City Under 1 1 to 4 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 to 39 40 to 44 45 to 49 50 to 54 55 to 59 60 to 64 65 to 69 70 to 74 75 to 79 80 & Over
Total Population 194,260 5,083 19,461 21,870 20,760 18,719 18,598 17,226 15,477 13,496 11,352 9,482 8,202 4,781 3,924 2,501 1,558 1,007 763
Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing; 3
Male 95,585 2,649 10,006 11,260 10,439 9,224 8,714 8,534 7,645 6,639 5,522 4,517 3,837 2,273 1,832 1,177 671 406 240
Female
Sex Ratio
98,675 2,434 9,455 10,610 10,321 9,495 9,884 8,692 7,832 6,857 5,830 4,965 4,365 2,508 2,092 1,324 887 601 523
Percentage computation by AECOM
The barangay is legally recognized to be smallest geopolitical unit in the Philippines
96.87 108.83 105.83 106.13 101.14 97.15 88.16 98.18 97.61 96.82 94.72 90.98 87.90 90.63 87.57 88.90 75.65 67.55 45.89
18
1.4.4
The bulk of the city population have completed secondary level education: Unlike the provincial population of ages 5 years old and over whose majority completed only elementary education (38.84 percent of 380,571), majority of those in the city population of Olongapo on the other hand have obtained and completed secondary level education (38.47 percent of 169,222). Furthermore, over 25% of the city population compared to over 18% of Zambales Province constituted those pursuing or having completed ‘post secondary studies’, ‘college undergraduate studies’, ‘an academic degree’, ‘post-baccalaureate studies. Table 9: Household Population 5 Years-Up by Highest Educational Attainment and Sex: Olongapo City, 2000 Highest Educational Attainment Olongapo City No Grade Completed Pre-School Elementary High School Post Secondary College Undergraduate Academic Degree Holder Post Baccalaureate Not Stated
Household Population 5 Years Old – Up
Percent Share to Household Population
169,222
100%
4,801 3,982 48,572 65,105 12,224 21,831 8,428 1,216 3,063
2.84% 2.35% 28.70% 38.47% 7.22% 12.9% 4.98% 0.71% 1.8%
Male
Female
82,627 2,485 2,065 22,756 32,327 6,372 10,872 3,688 552 1,510
86,595 2,316 1,917 25,816 32,778 5,852 10,959 4,740 664 1,553
Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing
1.4.5
Most of the city population were Tagalogs: Majority of those in the city population
1.4.6
Majority of the population total and by ethnicity are women. Table 9 below displays
of Olongapo were Tagalogs as domiciles of the Zambales province and those of the provinces constituting the Central Luzon region other Tagalog speaking regions such as the Southern Luzon and the National Capital Region. aggregate and sex- disaggregated data on ethnicity and sex of the local population Table 10: Household Population by Ethnicity and Sex:Olongapo City, 2000 Ethnicity Olongapo City Tagalog Ilocano Kapampangan Bisaya/Binisaya Sambal/Zambal Others Other Foreign Ethnicity Not Reported
Both Sexes 193,752 158,414 8,842 4,391 3,391 4,920 12,977 162 655
Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing
Male
Female 95,277 78,613 4,372 2,141 1,455 2,315 5980 112 289
98,475 79,801 4,470 2,250 1,936 2,605 6997 50 366
19
2
Labour Supply Profile
2.1 Philippine Labour Force: Growth and General Trends Trends across age groups 2.1.1
The national working age population has been growing by 2.6 percent annually.
2.1.2
High population growth and steady increase in women participation were key factors in the rapid increase of the labor force. Hence, the total labor force
This population group covers youth and adult age groupings within the ages 15-65, growing by 2.6% annually from 1981-2000. This translates to an average of 761,000 new entrants and re-entrants into the labor force each year in the 1980s, rising to 738,000 in the 1990s. Thus the labor force, which numbered 17.3 million in 1980, had nearly doubled to 32.2 million by 2000. It was 33.7 million in 2003 and 37.05 million in 2006.
participation rate rose from 49% in 1970 to 60% in 1980, and then to 65% in 2000.
2.1.3
Unfortunately, employment opportunities have failed to keep up with the rapid growth in the labour force. The consequence has been unemployment and underemployment rates that are persistently high by East Asian standards. Open unemployment rates have hovered just below the double-digit mark, typically hitting double digits during period of low or negative economic growth.
2.1.4
Unemployment rate at its peak to 4.2 million (in 2004) represented more than 10 percent of the labour force: Unemployment stood at about 8% in 1980, peaked at
12.6% in 1985—the trough of the 1980s economic recession—and rose above 10% again in 1991 and 1998 (which were also recession years). The total number of unemployed persons rose from 1.3 million in 1980 to 3.6 million in 2000—or 11.2% of the workforce. It was 4.2 million in 2004 and decreased slightly to 4.1 million in 2006.
2.1.5
Unemployment has typically been higher in urban than in rural areas reflecting rural to urban migration. For most of the 1980s and 1990s urban unemployment rates were above 10%, with the typical peaks during the recession years.
2.1.6
Underemployment has always been much greater than unemployment, remaining
2.1.7
Underemployment cuts across all age groups and educational backgrounds and has serious implications for ROI for acquired professional discipline, trade skills, licensure and the adequacy of incomes. It can take the form either of a lack of full-
above 20% during the 1980s and 1990s and peaking at about 33% in 1983-84. The total number of underemployed persons swelled from 3.6 million in 1980 to 6.3 million in 2000, to 7.4 million in 2006.
time employment (visible underemployment) or of a mismatch between occupation and educational background or training (invisible underemployment).
2.1.8
Moreover, unemployment among young and educated workers is an emerging common phenomenon in the Philippines. In the 1970s and early 1980s, most
unemployed were in the 15-24 year age group; educated only up to the primary or secondary level. The emerging unemployed now possess a tertiary education. The percentage total unemployed with at least some college education increased from 27.4% in 1980 to 33% in 2000. Even more telling was the proportion of unemployed with a college degree, which rose from 8.5% in 1980 to 14.8% in 2000.
20
2.1.9
The trend could reflect the “choosy youth” phenomenon (Manning 2000) or the
overseas worker phenomenon, which tends to raise the reservation wage. Nevertheless, it implies a serious waste of resources.
Trends with focused on youth age groups 2.1.10 Why focus on the youth segment of labour force? In between 1988 to 2006 an
average of 246,000 young people joined the workforce every year. In 2006, they comprised an average of 39 percent of the labor force4. Teenagers, or those in the age range of 15 to 19 years make up about 23 percent of the youth labor force while young adults, or those between 20 to 30 years, account for the remaining 77 percent.
2.1.11
The labor force participation rates of the youth have been generally stable, averaging 55 percent in the last eighteen years. Both adult and youth participation rates fluctuate within a 5-percentage point band, with youth participation reflecting the same pattern as that of adults. Understandably, school-age teenagers had the lowest average participation rate of 37 percent. The older youth groups, the 20 to 24 years old and the 25 to 30 years old registered 67.5% and 73.5% participation rates respectively.
2.1.12 The substantial difference in the labor force participation rates is between that of young males and young females. While there has been a slight increase in the latter’s
participation rate from 42.1 percent in 1988 to 43.4 percent in 2006, it was still considerably lower compared to men, which hovered at about 70.7 percent Traditional responsibilities of child-rearing, housekeeping and caring for sick members of the family have been keeping young women even the educated women from joining the labor market.
2.1.13 In 2006, 3.4 million young women were excluded from the labour force: Young women did not bother to look for work and were excluded from the labor force because they were in charge of housekeeping and family responsibilities. They account for 28 percent of the total female youth population. The 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey reports that on the average, Filipino women get married at age 22 and have their first child at age 23, thus a substantial part of the female youth's early career life is dedicated to the performance of such traditional roles.
2.1.14 Disparity between a young women and a young men’s labor force participation becomes marginal once the women reaches adulthood. The employment rate of
young men averaged 86.3% as against the women’s 82.2 %. It is interesting to note though that once the young women reach adulthood, the labor market becomes very integrative of them. The disparity between male and female labor participation rates becomes marginal, if not non-existent altogether, during adulthood
2.1.15 The service sector is the biggest absorber of labour: The distribution of the employed youth across industries reflects the structure of production and growth of the economy. The service sector is the biggest absorber of labor, accounting for almost half of the employed youth in 2006. Agriculture, despite its shrinking share in the economy, remains a key sector, and employs about a third of the employed youth. Industry absorbs merely 17%, not only because of the sector’s dismal growth over the years but also because of the capital-intensive nature of industrialization in the Philippines.
Labor Force refers to the population 15 years old and over who contribute to the production of goods and services in the country either employed or unemployed. Starting April 2005, the NSO adopted a new definition of unemployment, and added the “availability criterion”. While previously, only two criterion-jobless and looking for work, are required to be considered unemployed, the respondent is now asked if given a work opportunity, he or she is available and ready to work. The old definition of unemployment was used for this study. 4
21
2.1.16 Young male workers are mostly engaged in agricultural wage work whereas a large proportion of females are in services. 2.1.17 The bulk of the youth are labourers and unskilled workers (43.1%). Young males are often engaged in agriculture where work is typically seasonal in nature. Young females are mostly in services, particularly in sales and services elementary occupations which include the street hawkers, peddlers, as well as the small service providers such as beauticians, laundrywomen and domestic helpers.
2.1.18 The increase in the proportion of permanent jobs held by young people has been very minimal, declining even, from 1996 to 2004. The rise in the proportion of short-term employment, in contrast, has been significant.
2.1.19 In view of the foregoing, it is not surprising that the Philippines youth accounts for nearly two-thirds of the total unemployed. From 1.28 million in 1988, the
number of unemployed young people has doubled to 2.45 million in 2004. The youthadult unemployment ratio in the said year was 2.6, which means that young people are almost three times more likely to become jobless compared to adults. (ILO: Canlas and Pardalis 2007)
2.2 Skills Profile of the Philippine Labour Force Enrolment in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is responsible for the overall supervision of
higher learning institutions: in the development and quality assurance of its curricular program offerings primarily the standard 4-5 year baccalaureate programs and secondarily the prebaccalaureate and the post-baccalaureate programs. Available CHED statistics on enrolees and graduates in higher learning institutions generated the observations presented in the next section.
2.2.1
Enrolment in higher education institutions surpassed the two million mark. The
academic year 2004/2005 as a reference year recorded a total of 2.4 million enrolees mainly in baccalaureate programs and secondarily in pre-baccalaureate and postbaccalaureate programs. Table 11: Higher Educational Institution Enrolment by Region and Sex: 2004/2005 Region I II III IVA IVB V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII NCR CAR ARMM CARAGA Grand Total
Total Enrolees 127,632 85,523 172,883 212,603 42,370 112,452 201,663 184,262 88,203 59,096 103,989 101,965 76,461 654,130 93,238 43,360 42,485 2,402,315
Male 56,842 38,364 78,973 93,735 17,534 48,533 89,325 89,146 39,905 27,247 45,301 47,602 33,578 317,739 39,067 17,361 19,947 1,100,199
Source: CHED: Higher Education Statistical Bulletin, AY 2004-2005
Female 70,790 47,159 93,910 118,868 24,836 63,919 112,338 95,116 48,298 31,849 58,688 54,363 42,883 336,391 54,171 25,999 22,538 1,302,116
22
2.2.2
NCR and CALABARZON were the largest regions in terms of HEI enrolment:
2.2.3
Central Luzon Region was the fifth largest region in terms of HEI enrolment:
2.2.4
Note that the women constituted the majority of HEI enrolees in each of and
2.2.5
‘Business’, ‘medical’ and ‘education’ were the largest HEI enrolee groups: Based
Based on AY 2004/2005 enrolment figures as displayed in Table 11 below, the National Capital Region and the Region IV-A (Southern Luzon – CALABARZON), which were earlier identified to be among the top most populous regions and recorded to have a very young population, have the largest number of enrolees in CHED-regulated and deregulated higher learning institutions. Based on AY 2004/2005 enrolment figures, Region VI (Western Visayas-Ilongo Region), Region VII (Central Visayas – Cebuano Region) and Region III (Central Luzon – Tagalog Region ) respectively placed third, fourth and fifth largest regions in terms of number of enrolees in higher learning institutions. [Note that there are more higher learning institutions and centers of excellence instituted in most other regions. There is a high propensity due to proximity for high school graduates to pursue tertiary education in the higher learning institutions in NCR and Baguio City] across all the regions in the country.
on AY 2004/2005 enrolment figures, particular academic disciplines falling under the major discipline groups of ‘Business Administration and Related’ (22%) ‘Medical and Allied Courses’ (19%) and Education Science and Teacher Training’ (15%) have the largest share in the total number of enrolees in higher learning institutions. Table 12: Higher Educational Institution Enrolment by Discipline and Sex, 2004/2005 Discipline Group Agricultural, Forestry, Fisheries, Vet Med. Architectural and Town Planning Business Administration and Related Education Science and Teacher Training Engineering and Technology Fine and Applied Arts General Home Economics Humanities Law and Jurisprudence Mass Communication and Documentation Mathematics and Computer Science Medical and Allied Natural Science Religion and Theology Service Trades Social and Behavioral Sciences Trade, Craft and Industrial Other Disciplines GRAND TOTAL IT Related Discipline * Maritime Education **
_______________________
Total Enrolees
Enrolment Share
Male
70,824 23,225 516,928 366,941 321,660 12,221 34,234 5,342 26,956 19,539 25,299 240,178 445,729 23,458 7,892 13,878 66,490 14,946 166,575 2,402,315
3% 1% 22% 15% 13% 1% 1% 0% 1% 1% 1% 10% 19% 1% 0% 1% 3% 1% 7% 100%
36,135 16,607 194,447 94,662 247,289 7,873 17,026 566 11,939 10,858 7,141 121,986 142,971 8,011 6,536 3,046 23,790 8,085 141,231 1,100,199
34,689 6,618 322,481 272,279 74,371 4,348 17,208 4,776 15,017 8,681 18,158 118,192 302,758 15,447 1,356 10,832 42,700 6,861 25,344 1,302,116
229,321 73,250
10% 3%
117,521 72,245
111,800 1,005
Source: CHED: Higher Education Statistical Bulletin, AY 2004/2005 * No. of IT related graduates was derived from Mathematics and Computer Science graduates ** No. of Maritime Education graduates were derived from Engineering and other fields
Female
23
2.2.6
‘Engineering’ and ‘mathematics and computer science’ were the fourth and fifth largest groups in terms of HEI enrolment: Using the same academic year,
2004/2005, particular academic disciplines falling under the major discipline groups of Engineering and Technology (13%) and ‘Mathematics and Computer Science’ (10%) have the largest share in the total number of enrolees in higher education institutions. Information Technology is a subset of the latter mentioned academic discipline group.
2.2.7
Noteworthy, women constituted the bulk of the enrolees in each and across all the discipline groups of business, medical and education programs.
Graduates of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) 2.2.8
Annual graduates of HEI programs numbered close to half a million: The
2.2.9
NCR, CALABARZON, Western Visayas-Ilonggo and Central Visayas-Cebuano were the largest regions in terms of producing HEI graduates: Based on AY
academic year 2003/2004 as a reference/illustrative year recorded a total of 386,920 graduates mainly enrolled in 4-5 year baccalaureate programs (3-4 years in HEI in trimester system) and secondarily in pre- and post-baccalaureate HEI programs.
2003/2004 enrolment figures (Table 13), the National Capital Region and the Region IVA (Southern Luzon – CALABARZON), two of the most populous regions and the largest in terms of number of enrolees in CHED regulated and deregulated programs were the largest regions in terms of producing HEI graduates. Region VI (Western Visayas-Ilonggo) and Region VII (Central Visayas – Cebuano) were in third and fourth ranks respectively.
2.2.10 Central Luzon Region was the fifth largest region in terms of producing HEI graduates: Based on AY 2004/2005 graduates figures, Region III (Central Luzon – Tagalog) placed fifth among the top regions producing HEI graduates. Note that the women constituted the majority of HEI graduates in each of and across all the regions in the country. Table 13: Higher Educational Institution Graduates by Region and Sex: 2003/2004 Region I II III IVA IVB V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII NCR CAR ARMM CARAGA Grand Total
Total Graduates
Male
Female
23,763 14,297 30,901 36,038 6,493 18,900 33,647 31,523 14,051 9,484 17,973 14,525 12,300 98,352 12,809 5,253 6,611 386,920
9,105 5,701 12,566 14,726 2,206 7,894 13,027 13,345 5,681 4,014 6,465 5,958 5,041 45,024 4,674 1,987 2,867 160,281 41.42%
14,658 8,596 18,335 21,312 4,287 11,006 20,620 18,178 8,370 5,470 11,508 8,567 7,259 53,328 8,135 3,266 3,744 226,639 58.57%
Source: CHED: Higher Education Statistical Bulletin, AY 2003/2004
24
2.2.11 ‘Business’, ‘medical’ and ‘education’ were the largest HEI graduates groups:
Based on AY 2003/2004 graduates figures, particular academic disciplines falling under the major discipline groups of ‘Business Administration and Related’ (22%) ‘Medical and Allied Courses’ (19%) and Education Science and Teacher Training’ (15%) have the largest contribution in the total number of graduates produced by higher education institutions.
2.2.12 Noteworthy females significantly constituted the number of actual graduates in almost every discipline, significantly higher than male graduates in ‘Business Administration and Related’, ‘Education and Teacher Training’, ‘Medical and Allied’, ‘Mathematics and Computer Science’ (IT related) programs as well as in the traditional women dominated fields such as Social and Behavioural Science and Service Trades.
2.2.13 The National Capital Region is a consistent top producer of almost every type of HEI graduates considering the fact that many of the top colleges and universities and centers of excellence are located in Metro Manila.
2.2.14 A side note, there are many stories of graduates of NCR – based HEI who hail from and
go back to their domicile towns in regions and provinces outside of NCR where they are obliged to continue family businesses, or choose to start-up their own businesses, or prefer to pursue careers as private professional practitioners or civil service career professionals after acquiring ample licensure and experiences in or out of the country and not necessarily lured to go out of the country (note from the AMA School Director).
Table 14: Higher Educational Institution Graduates by Discipline and Sex, 2003/2004 Discipline Group Agricultural, Forestry, Fisheries, Vet Med. Architectural and Town Planning Business Administration and Related Education Science & Teacher Training Engineering and Technology Fine and Applied Arts General Home Economics Humanities Law and Jurisprudence Mass Communication and Documentation Mathematics and Computer Science Medical and Allied Natural Science Religion and Theology Service Trades Social and Behavioral Sciences Trade, Craft and Industrial Other Disciplines GRAND TOTAL IT Related Discipline * Maritime Education **
Total Graduates 13,154 3,462 101,119 71,851 50,679 1,662 3,607 1,100 4,667 2,672 4,712 35,367 41,688 4,209 1,427 2,413 13,284 3,579 26,268 386,920 33,613 12,487
Graduates Share 3% 1% 26% 19% 13% 0% 1% 0% 1% 1% 1% 9% 11% 1% 0% 1% 3% 1% 7% 100%
Male
Female
6,326 2,380 32,741 16,353 37,500 909 2,086 90 1,970 1,498 1,144 15,224 10,790 1,400 1,226 394 4,135 1,968 22,147 160,281
6,828 1,082 68,378 55,498 13,179 753 1,521 1,010 2,697 1,174 3,568 20,143 30,898 2,809 201 2,019 9,149 1,611 4,121 226,639
9% 3%
14,572 12,375
19,041 112
________________________ Source: CHED: Higher Education Statistical Bulletin, AY 2003/2004 * No. of IT related graduates was derived from Mathematics and Computer Science graduates ** No. of Maritime Education graduates were derived from Engineering and other fields
25 Table15: HEI Graduates of Most Popular Academic Field by Region, 2003/2004 Region
Business Graduates
Education Science and Teacher Training
Engineering and Technology
Medical and Allied Fields
Math and Computer Science (IT)
Maritime (derived from other fields)
Graduates
101,119
71,851
50,679
41,688
35,367
12,487
I II III IVA IVB V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII NCR CAR ARMM CARAGA
4,846 3,525 7,893 10,047 2,104 4,391 8,458 7,625 3,173 1,425 3,458 4,753 3,254 31,134 2,574 951 1,508
5,372 3,350 7,411 5,866 2,168 4,679 7,204 5,998 3,918 2,456 4,565 2,688 2,462 7,385 2,729 1,740 1,860
2,526 1,063 5,533 6,546 439 2,668 4,462 5,513 1,548 859 1,883 1,167 1,013 13,020 1,357 240 842
4,277 1,311 1,420 3,161 104 1,268 4,310 3,571 905 1,290 3,370 1,655 583 11,181 2,254 368 660
2,559 1,237 3,956 5,353 543 1,299 1,978 3,018 1,311 540 938 902 805 9,454 779 321 374
880 3 812 128 49 755 1,886 1,454 420 417 578 721 455 3,566 363
Data construct by AECOM Source of data: for above construct: CHED: Higher Education Statistical Bulletin, AY 2003/2004
Enrolment and Graduates of Technical Vocational Education Institutions The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is responsible for the overall supervision of technical and vocational education training (TVET) schools as well as higher learning institutions that offer short-run and 2-3 years non-degree programs that are trade and job skills specific in design and delivered in modular approach. Based on available TESDA statistics, the following characterize the TVET schools and students in the country.
2.2.15 The country’s annual aggregate number of enrolees to TVET specialized courses surpassed the one million mark recording an actual count of 1,166,226 enrolees in 2002 to as high as 1,736,000 in 2006.
2.2.16 NCR, CALABARZON and Central Luzon were the largest regions in terms of number of TVET school enrolees. The National Capital Region, Region IV-A (Southern Luzon – CALABARZON) and Region III (Central Luzon) were the top three most populous regions. It is in these areas that which recorded to have the largest number of enrolees and undergraduates to TVET courses. Region VI (Western Visayas Region), Region VII (Central Visayas – Cebu Region), Region V (Bicol Region) and Region XI (Davao Region), respectively ranked fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh largest regions in terms of contribution to TVET enrolees.
26 Table 15: Comparative Data, TVET Enrolment and Graduates, 2003-2006 Region I II III IV-A IV-B V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII NCR CAR CARAGA ARMM Total
TVET Students Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates Enrolees Graduates
2002
2003 63,863 103,698 29,381 17,092 124,458 94,827 181,367 145,726
2004
2005
2006
85,390 117,645 108,013 137,188 50,997 58,468 45,090 36,272 38,248 35,308 60,981 55,987 53,261 38,947 42,103 37,215 205,634 71,277 29,385 34,592 48,055 36,602
64,876 62,183 55,161 48,617 113,191 66,175 144,914 94,483 48,201 41,907 109,829 107,507 99,962 87,248 106,740 97,293 62,016 54,667 46,029 44,113 65,683 54,729 61,785 38,723 42,556 30,451 227,660 117,480 32,091 31,583 37,214 29,402
52,027 35,682 74,492 64,233 120,325 66,233 131,500 31,743 39,780 65,167 63,782 50,930 93,971 84,686 143,523 90,729 53,178 50,881 40,719 37,449 42,162 31,414 55,471 30,427 38,359 24,183 210,727 127,533 30,175 24,718 30,247 23,890
85,974 71,495 62,440 67,481 140,650 98,455 161,707 105,588 61,326 59,755 105,345 91,328 195,035 175,724 94,540 102,418 67,349 59,800 63,875 48,606 91,283 80,149 104,708 73,328 49,371 36,381 315,819 212,062 38,334 34,878 45,626 36,876
1,166,226 1,020,844
1,318,088 1,006,561
1,220,438 839,898
1,683,382 1,354,344
90,788 75,953 84,861 77,240 179,242 126,738 161,717 107,217 62,081 57,389 112,392 95,999 144,539 124,341 114,063 115,264 68,606 62,033 64,666 53,025 91,083 64,432 112,079 76,302 53,276 42,137 296,016 172,604 49,512 43,337 45,854 40,605 6,090 6,004 1,736,865 1,342,626
Source: TESDA through TESDA Zambales Office
2.2.17 The same regions: NCR, CALABARZON and Central Luzon were the topmost producers of TVET graduates in the country. Although there were generally more
enrolees than graduates in any given year, nonetheless, the figures for both enrolees and graduates of TVET surpassed the one millionth enrolment/graduation mark indicative of the short cycle time for an enrolee to complete a program and the stock level of skilled labour in the country.
Certified Skilled Labour vs. Local and Overseas Job Demand 2.2.18 Cumulative count of duly certified skilled labour across regions in the country for the last five years to 2005 was aggregately recorded at 330,000. The maritime skills
sector (60.8%) dominated the types of available stock of certified skilled labor the country has, followed by construction skills sector (10.4%), the automotive skills sector (8.7%), the health, social and community services skills sector (5.8%), the electronics skills sector (3.9%) the metals and engineering skills sector (2.9%) and the ICT-IT skills sector (2.8%)
2.2.19 Projected demand for five years to 2010 for a range of skilled labour figured high in the construction, tourism and health sectors: For local demand, demand for
27 skilled labour was largest in the construction sector with projected 214,591 available job posts to fill in; next in tourism sector with projected 145,835 job posts to fill in. For overseas demand, demand for skilled labour was largest in the health, personal and community services with projected 1,173,000 available job posts to fill in. Table 16: Philippine Labour Supply and Demand (Critical and Emerging Skills): 2006-2010 Sector and Occupational Skills Sector
Projected Local Labour Demand
(1)
Projected Overseas Labour Demand
(2)
Total Demand
(3)= 2-1
Stock of Certified Skilled Labour
Labour Demand Gap
Labour +Surplus Supply -Shortage
20002005
20062010
20062010
(4)
(5) 3-4
(6 )
20062010 (7) 6-5
Automotive
12, 781
7,296
20,077
28,936
(8,859)
36,266
Construction
214,591
59,670
274,261
34,325
239,936
174,648
-65,289
Decorative Crafts
42,586
17,854
60,440
185
60,255
50,000
- 10,255
Electronics
64,824
-
64,824
12,849
51,975
44,064
- 7,911
6,093
-
6,093
226
5,876
11,295
+ 5,428
Food and Beverages Footwear
+ 45,125
7,151
-
7,151
-
7,151
38,812
+ 31,661
Furniture and Fixtures
45,594
959
46,553
1,106
45,447
32,271
-13,176
Garments
90,853
53,311
144,164
6,618
137,546
39,000
- 98,546
Health, Soc, Com Services
33,683
1,173,000
1,206,683
19,122
1,187,561
71,315
- 1,116,246
HVAC-R *
12,419
-
12,419
6,117
6,302
46,589
+ 40,287
ICT – IT
23,824
1,034
24,858
9,483
15,375
83,741
+ 68,366
3,933
35,061
38,994
1,734
37,260
19,227
- 18,032
16,319
763,102
779,421
200,590
578,831
30,573
- 548,258
Land Transport Maritime Metals & Engineering
57,018
4,870
61,888
9,574
52,314
90,219
+ 37,905
Tourism
145,835
-
145,835
-
145,835
176,000
+ 30,165
Total
777,504
2,116,157
2,893,661
330,865
2,562,796
944,020
-1,618,776
Source: TESDA using PSP Data;
* HVAC-R Heating, Ventilating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration
2.2.20 The demand and supply equation for certified skilled labour Figures in Table 16 above provide some indication (as data source has its limitation) in which sector there would be a critical shortage of skills or underutilization resulting from ‘surplus’ of skills. Critical skills shortages (a) The health, social and community services sector was projected to experience a shortage of 1,116,246 skilled labour (2006-2010): The sector accounted for the fourth largest stock of certified skilled labour with a cumulative headcount of 19,122 persons (2000-2005) and a projected additional supply headcount of 71,315 (20062010). However, projected locally available skills supply is not enough to numerically meet the projected demand of local (33,683) and overseas (1,173,000) job markets. (b) The maritime skills sector was projected to experience a shortage of 548,248 skilled labour (2006-2010): The sector accounted for the largest stock of certified skilled labour with a cumulative headcount of 200,590 (2000-2005) and a projected
28 additional supply headcount of 30,773 (2006-2010). However, the projected local skills supply is not enough to meet the projected demand of local (16,319) and overseas (763,102) job markets. (c) The garments skills sector was projected to experience a shortage of 98,546 skilled labour (2006-2010): The sector accounted for a cumulative headcount of 6,618 certified skilled labour (2000-2005) and a projected additional supply headcount of 39,000 (2006-2010). However, the projected locally available skills supply is not enough to meet the projected demand of local (90,853) and overseas (53,311) job markets (d) The construction skills sector was projected to experience a shortage of 65,289 skilled labour (2006-2010): The sector accounted for the second largest stock of certified skilled labour with a cumulative headcount of 34,325 (2000-2005) and a projected additional supply headcount of 174,648 (2006-2010). However, the projected local skills supply is not enough to meet projected demand of local (214,591) and overseas (59,670) job markets. Skills surplus (e) The automotive skills sector was projected to experience a surplus of 45,125 available skilled labour (2006-2010): The sector accounted for the third largest stock of certified skilled labour with a cumulative headcount of 28,936 (2000-2005) and a projected additional supply headcount of 36,266 (2006-2010). However, the projected locally available labor skills supply exceeded by 45,125 headcount the projected aggregate demand of local (12,781) and overseas (7,296) job markets. Non-absorption of the into the automotive sector and other relevant industries could lead to increasing unemployment or underemployment of automotive technicians unless new sources of investments can be locally infused to create new jobs that can utilize surplus skills. (f) The engineering and metal skills sector was projected to experience a surplus of 37,905 available skilled labour (2006-2010): The sector accounted for the fifth largest stock of skilled labour with a cumulative headcount of 9,574 (2000-2005) and a projected additional supply headcount of 90,219 (2006-2010). However, the projected locally available labor skills supply exceeded by 37,905 headcount the projected aggregate demand of local (12,781) and overseas (7,296) job markets (g) The ICT – IT skills sector was projected to experience a surplus of 68,366 available skilled labour (2006-2010): The sector accounted for the sixth largest and fast growing stock of skilled labour with cumulative headcount of 24,858 (20002005) and a projected additional supply headcount of 83,741 (2006-2010) (h) The HVAC-R (Heating, Ventilating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration)
skills sector was expected to experience a surplus of 40,287 available skilled labour (2006-2010): The sector accounted for the seventh largest stock of skilled
labour with a cumulative headcount of 6,117 (2005). However, the projected locally available labour skills supply exceeded by 40,287 headcount the projected demand 12,419) of the local job markets. Such surplus of skills when not connected to local or non-local economic growth sectors could lead to under or non-utilization of skills reinforcing the educated unemployed phenomenon.
29
Labour Force Participation, Employed Persons and Educational Attainment 2.2.21 Labour force participation of population groups with ages 15 and above: The number of persons in the labor force in January 2008 was estimated at 36.4 million out of the estimated 57.4 million population 15 years and over. These numbers translate into a labor force participation rate of 63.4 percent, compared to last year's figure of 64.8 percent.
The relatively low level of labour force participation rate is associated with an increasing number of those not actively looking for work in favour of attendance in school especially for ages 15-19 and attendance to family responsibilities associated with child care and care for sick members of the family. It is also associated to an increasing number of OFW remittance dependents who conveniently choose not to work nor even complete studies; discouraged jobseekers who eventually withdrew from the job search effort due to repeated rejections and the emergence of the choosy educated that made them chronically unemployed. (ILO:TNS surveys in eight localities)
2.2.22 Employment or absorption into the formal and informal economic sectors: Using the 2000 census figures, the NSO projected the number of employed persons in January 2008 to be at 33.7 million, with the employment rate at 92.6 percent and unemployment at 7.4 percent; preceding year's rate at 92.2 percent and 9.8 percent respectively. By major economic sector: Of the estimated 33.7 million employed persons, around one-half (50.2%) were in the services sector, more than one-third (35.0%) in the agriculture sector and the rest (14.8%) were in the industry sector. These proportions were almost the same as in January 2007 estimates at 50.5 percent for services sector, 34.7 percent for agriculture sector and 14.8 percent for industry sector. By occupation group: Among the various occupation groups across the major economic sectors,
Labourers and unskilled workers comprised the largest proportion (31.6%) of the total employed population; also the largest in January 2007 (32.3%) accounting for around 10 million of the employed persons in the country.
Farmers, forestry workers and fishermen registered the second largest group of workers with 18.2 percent in January 2008 and 17.6 percent in January 2007 accounting for around 6 million of the employed persons in the country
Government, special interest organizations and corporate executives, supervisors and managing proprietors constituted the third largest group (11.9% in 2008 from 12.1% in 2007), accounting for around 4 million of the employed persons in the country.
Service workers and shop and market service workers constituted the fourth largest group (9.8% in 2008 and 2007) accounting for around 3.3 million of the employed persons in the country.
30
Trades and related personnel constituted the fifth largest group (8.2% in 2008 and 2007) accounting for around 2.7 million of the employed persons
Plant and machine operators and assemblers constituted the sixth largest group (7.7% in 2008 and 2007) accounting for around 2.6 million of the employed persons in the country.
Clerical personnel constituted the seventh largest group the (5.2% in 2008 and 4.9 in 2007) accounting for around 1.7 million employed persons in the country
Professionals (4.5% and 4.3%) technicians and associate professionals (2.6 and 2.7%) and special occupation practitioners (0.4 and 0.4%) constituted the three smallest groups accounting for around 1.5 million, 0.9 million and 0.14 million employed persons in the country.
Across regions: The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) had the highest employment rate (97.6%), followed by Region II - Cagayan Valley (96.5%) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (96.0%.). The latter two are the neighboring regions of Central Luzon region/
2.2.23 The National Capital Region (87.5%), Region IVA (90.6%) and Region IIII (90.7%) recorded the lowest employment rates. This despite the fact that same regions are the hosts to major economic and job growth centers in the country and have posted an increasing number of graduates produced by tertiary level schools.
2.2.24 Incidences of underemployment among the employed Employed persons fall into any of these categories: wage and salary workers, own account workers and unpaid family workers. Wage and salary workers are those who work for private establishments, government or government corporations and those who work with pay in own-family operated farm or business. More than half (51.7%) of the total employed persons in January 2008 were wage and salary workers mostly working for private establishments (38.2%). Those working for the government or government corporations accounted for 7.9 percent. More than one-third of the total employed persons were own-account workers accounting for 36.1 percent with selfemployed workers registering the highest share (32.3% of total employed). Unpaid family workers were estimated at 12.2 percent. Employed persons are classified as either full-time workers or part-time workers. Fulltime workers are those who work for 40 hours or more while part-time workers work for less than 40 hours. Six in every 10 employed persons in January 2008 were full-time workers, with those working for 40 to 48 hours having the highest proportion (40.8% of total employed). Part-time workers comprised 35.3 percent of the total employed. Employed persons who want or desire additional hours of work are considered underemployed. Most of the underemployed were found in the agriculture sector at 49.3 percent. Underemployed persons in the services sector accounted for 35.8 percent while those in the industry sector, 14.9 percent.
31 About 61.2 percent of the underemployed were reported as visibly underemployed, or had been working for less than 40 hours a week.
2.2.25 Incidences of unemployment in the country. The unemployment rate in January 2008 was estimated at 7.4 percent. Among the regions, the NCR had the highest unemployment rate. It registered a 2-digit unemployment rate of 12.5 percent. Males had higher unemployment rate of 7.8 percent compared to females at 6.7 percent. For every ten unemployed, five (49.6%) were in the age group 15-24 years, while three were in the age group 25-34. Table 17: Philippine LF Participation, Employment, Unemployment, Underemployment Rates Region
Total Population 15 years and over
Labour force participation rate
Employment rate
Unemployment
Under employment
All - RP
57,390,000
36,385,260
33,692,750
(2,692,509)
6,367,930
(63.4%)
(92.6%)
(7.4%)
(18.9)
I
3,225,000
61.0
91.2
8.8
14.8
II
2,092,000
66.5
96.5
3.5
20.8
III
6,327, 000
60.1
90.7
9.3
10.3
IVA
7,388, 000
62.3
90.6
9.4
15.9
IVB
1,699,000
69.2
95.3
4.7
29.2
V
3,202,000
63.9
93.8
6.2
37.5
VI
4,694,000
63.5
93.5
6.5
24.0
VII
4,350,000
63.7
93.2
6.8
13.0
VIII
2,564,000
64.4
94.9
5.1
23.5
IX
2,008,000
64.5
95.8
4.2
23.5
X
2,615,000
69.5
94.7
5.3
29.7
XI
2,691,000
67.0
93.8
6.2
17.1
XII
2,431,000
64.9
95.4
4.6
22.5
NCR
7,595,000
61.6
87.5
12.5
8.3
CAR
1,062,000
66.5
96.0
4.0
23.3
ARMM
1,933, 000
57.1
97.6
2.4
20.9
CARAGA
1,515,000
65.9
95.4
4.6
24.2
Figures were estimated using the 2000 Census-based Population Projections. Source: National Statistics Office, January 2008 Labor Force Survey
2.2.26 Educational attainment of the unemployed persons. Around 39.0 percent of the unemployed had attained college level and 33.5 percent were high school graduates.
32
3 3.1
Labour Demand and Supply Status at SBFZ Overview: Economic and Job Growth function of SBFZ
Subic Bay Freeport Zone has an estimated population of 3,000 residents. Just outside of the gate of Subic is Olongapo City, which is home to 194,000 people. The adjacent provinces of Bataan and Zambales have over 500,000 residents of each. The entire Central Luzon region covering the provinces of Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan and Tarlac has a combined population of over 8 million. Filipino and English are the official languages. Filipino-Tagalog is the national language and English is the language of administration. SBFZ has a large pool of English-speaking, educated and motivated workers and professionals generally drawn from the nearby localities and the 8 million population of Central Luzon Operating within the framework of Republic Act 7227 otherwise known as the Philippine Bases Conversion Act of 1992 and subject to the mandate and limitations of the Philippine Constitution and the pertinent provisions in Republic Act 7160 otherwise know as the Local Government Code of 1991, the Subic Special Economic Zone shall be developed into a selfsustaining, industrial, commercial, financial and investment center to generate employment opportunities in and around the zone and effectively attract productive foreign investment.
3.2
Current and Emerging Demand for Labour at SBFZ
Business Critical Skills Areas for SBFZ Locators 3.2.1
A region-wide labour market stakeholders’ dialogue locally referred to as the “Labour Mismatch Congress” has been held three times already since its initial round in 2001 among the labour market stakeholders of the region.
3.2.2
In the most recent forum held in 2007, the stakeholders officially recognized the critical demand of SBFZ locators for graduates, experienced and licensed professionals and certified technicians in the disciplines and allied skill areas of o o o o o
Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering Industrial Engineering Electronic and Communication Engineering Information and Communication Technology
3.2.3
Such kinds of talents are the same time kinds which industries (especially in aviation, telecommunication and IT/ICT sectors) located outside of the Freeport (i.e. Olongapo and Angeles cities and other special economic zones and growth areas within and outside the region and the country) go search, head-hunt or even poach for to fill-in the respective skills and talents shortages of an industry.
3.2.4
The SBMA Manpower Services Division and the local higher learning institutions observed that other than the critical demand for talents in the engineering and technology fields, there is also a strong demand from the SBFZ locators for new hires to be particularly English and other language proficient and generally effective communicators.
33
Redevelopment Critical Sectors, Occupations and Skills Set for SBFZ 3.2.5
Demand for talents in the engineering, technology and related fields as professionals, associate professionals and/or technicians is projected to increase as new investments materialized in the sectors targeted priority for redeveloping and managing SBFZ.
3.2.5.1
Information and Communication Technologies/Business Process Outsourcing is a sector closely tied to and relied upon by those in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector as both functions to support the competitiveness of manufacturing and service sector giants. Broadly, the ICT as a support sector has a catalytic impact in three key areas: (1) productivity and innovation, by facilitating creativity and management; (2) modernization of public services, such as health, education and transport; (3) and advances in science and technology, by supporting cooperation and access to information. It is thus fuelling demand for the internet and other networked information systems from all sectors of the economy such as education, entertainment, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, publishing and retailing to mention a few.. The sector would critically require graduates with hard skills on designing, building and implementing functioning information systems and applying knowledge management methods with emphasis on topics of relevance to software developers; personal skills necessary to realise the innumerable opportunities presented by the most modern information technologies; and interpersonal skills such as working with teams, language proficiency and effective communication (active listening) skills as it involves working with people with varied backgrounds and experience, understanding their requirements, and designing systems which they will be able to use successfully. In the same light, BPO is positively related to the search for more efficient organizational designs: cost reduction, productivity growth and innovative capabilities; hence a source for strategic advantage for its client industries. As a support sector, it contains the transmission of processes along with the associated operational activities and responsibilities, to a third party with at least a guaranteed equal service level and where the client contains a firm grip over the activities of the vendor for mutual long term success. The sector is heavily dependent on information and communication technology being that a BPO firm requires the software, the process management, and the empowered workforce to operate the service. The service are of two types - the back office outsourcing which includes internal business functions such as billing, purchasing, medical transcription, architectural designs, animation works and the front office outsourcing which includes customer-related services such as marketing or technical support. The firm could be operating as an offshore or near-shore facility. With the foregoing aspects of a BPO firm, investing in the sector would thus seriously require as a minimum graduates with computer software skills, language/s proficiency, technical proficiency in the industry or field of discipline covered under a particular BPO account and a functional knowledge on world geography.
3.2.5.2
Electronics Sector is in the business of creating, designing, producing, and selling devices such as radios, televisions, stereos, computers, semiconductors, transistors, and integrated circuits. The industry boomed as new developments in electronics were adopted on a widespread basis in commerce and industry. Investments by first generation giants Motorola, IBM, NCR and Honeywell during the 1970’s led to major advances in the field of electronics which played a key role in the development of space technology, satellite communications and the introduction of the
34 personal computer, computer-guided robots in factories and systems for storing and transmitting data electronically. All these said innovations transformed life at home, the office, and the factory. But despite the periods of global production slowdown, electronic components, innovation is not slowing down in the electronics industry. In the domestic front, the electronics sector is acknowledged as the main driver of the Philippine economy as it accounts for 70 percent of the country's total exports. The sector as an organized group (SEIPI) envisions to transform the country into a regional centre of excellence for selected electronics industry products and processes and to become the investment location of choice for those who wish to design, make and sell their products. The sector as a nationally organized group particularly, it envisions more firms enter the more challenging stage of product development i.e. – the design stage. Design stage firms is crucial for the survival and growth of the entire electronics sector as innovations in the product design stage particularly along the consumer, industrial, medical and telecommunication sub-sectors brings in a new product of value to the industries it supports (e.g., etc) for its survival and growth. Given the foregoing, the sector hence would create local demand for engineering, associate and technician types of jobs with the proper with the personal skills on realizing and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by ICT technologies to the sector and adapting R&D process discipline as a rule. 3.2.5.3
Motor Vehicle and Parts (with focus on parts) The motor vehicle is an intricate series of systems, subsystems, and components assembled into a final product. Each manufactured motor vehicle part or component is integrated into the vehicle; none is developed to exist separately. In general terms, the sector covers production and distribution of electrical and electronic equipment; gasoline engines and parts; brake systems; seating and interior trim; steering and suspension components; transmission and power train parts; airconditioners; and motor vehicle stampings, such as fenders, tops, body parts, trim, and moulding in line with the overall design of a full motor vehicle model. As new and updated models are designed in response to changing consumer preferences it creates a demand for manufactured motor vehicle parts The part sector in fact generally grows rapidly faster than the motor vehicle body sector. The vehicles parts sector essentially requires specialists (engineer, associate engineers, technologists and technicians) in the areas of design, make and distribution. The latter (distribution) is anticipated to be a critical job area for the sector which requires a specialist knowledge of vehicle components to sell motor parts and accessories to parts dealerships, industrial clients and the general public In this type of job, one could concentrate on spares and accessories for light vehicles or specialised in heavy vehicles, such as lorries, plant machinery, buses and coaches. The job of a motor vehicle parts specialist would entail dealing with customers taking orders in person, over the phone and via email, checking availability of parts on computerised stock records, getting parts from the storeroom or warehouse or, if out of stock, ordering them from suppliers, putting orders together, booking couriers and sometimes making deliveries, dealing with payments and maintaining shop window and shelf displays. This would also carry out stock control duties, reordering supplies, taking deliveries, shelving stock and updating records.
3.2.5.4
Logistics Infrastructure: Infrastructure such as airports, seaports, roads, bridges, etc. are all important to a country in terms of attracting investment and business and to a company
35 when it is time to decide where to locate an investment, build a factory, establish a regional office or a logistical hub. How easy a country is to travel to and the modernity and the efficiency of its air and seaports is always something a company and its executives need to consider. The decision factors particularly include the availability of facilities for handling raw materials and finished products such as storage, warehousing, freight forwarding, as well as ICT facilities that can speed up, secure and account for the movement of goods and services. Underlying the forgoing is the concept that infrastructure provides organizing structure and support for the system, organization, locality, a nation, or a corporation. Economically, infrastructure could be seen to be the structural elements of an economy which allow for production of goods and services without themselves being part of the production process, e.g. roads allow the transport of raw materials and finished products. Once adequate logistics infrastructures in place, the next logical step is to broaden attention to cover less visible reforms that can make the network of assets in an investment hub efficient. Programs to enforce truck weight laws more strictly, make customs clearance more predictable, transaction processes simpler and costs lower for a greater impact on an economy than another port expansion or highway improvement or any other aspects bottlenecks and unnecessary costs to doing business. This sector would require graduates and practitioners from the major disciplines of engineering and technology, business management, mathematics and ICT to scientifically tackle the more visible aspects of the infrastructure management. On the other hand it would specially require IT proficient industrial engineers, management, commerce and customs management graduates and practitioners to tackle the less visible aspects of infrastructure management 3.2.5.5
Research and Development and Training: New product design and development is more than often a crucial factor in the survival and growth of a company. In an industry that is fast changing and where firms must continually revise their design and range of products, R& D is necessary due to continuous technology change and development, emergence of competitors and the changing preference of customers. A system driven by marketing is one that puts the customer needs first, and only produces goods that are known to sell. Market research is carried out, which establishes what is needed. If the development is technology driven then it is a matter of selling what it is possible to make. The product range is developed so that production processes are as efficient as possible and the products are technically superior, hence possessing a natural advantage in the market place. Developing an R& D as a support sector would generally require the active involvement of the concerned players of the business community and directly concerned sector, of the academic community, of the science and technology community and the local development planning councils and functionaries. This creates the demand for graduates and specialist practitioners capable of activating SBFZ technology, products and labor markets researches, managing research and knowledge management facilities custom built for addressing locators competitiveness needs, facilitating business/sector knowledge sharing, utilization and impact assessment.
3.2.5.6
Machinery and Equipment: This sector will entail focussing on R & D, engineering design, state-of-the-art technology and market development to support clustering of firms and support the growth of other industries within the area and would require a range of engineers and technicians.
36
3.3
Current Supply of Labour at SBFZ
Total Workforce and Distribution by Business Category 3.3.1
Firms located in SBFZ aggregately maintain a total workforce of 76,832 persons:
3.3.2
Majority, at 43 percent, of the hires in SBFZ work with the service sector firms:
Based on available statistics (May 31, 2008) with the SBMA Manpower Recruitment Division, there were a total number of 76,832 persons employed by firms located at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The figure covers the hires largely of business establishments as well as the 546 hires of households in the zone. About 43 percent of the hires in SBFZ work with services sector firms; 27 percent with shipbuilding and marine-related services firms; 19 percent with manufacturing firms and 10 percent with construction firms. (For cross reference: See AECOM generated list of service sector and sub-sector establishments in SBFZ) Total Workforce and Distribution by Business Categories SBF Total Workforce by Business Categories, May 2008
Co nstructio n Do mestic Helpers 1% 10%
M anufacturing 19%
Shipbuilding/M arine Related Services 27%
Services 43%
Source: SBMA Labor Department Manpower Services Division
3.3.3
Majority, at around 60 percent, of the hires in SBFZ are on a contractual status:
There is no readily available data with the SBMA Labor Services to clearly show the SBFZ workforce categories by job levels, types and employment status. The Manpower Services Division Chief conjectured the entire workforce to be roughly 60% contractual in employment status. Figures on the size and the status of SBFZ employees derived from the Aecom administered business survey (May-June 2008) indicated that locators typically maintain around 67 percent of its hires on a contractual status and 33 percent on a regular status. The hires on regular status presumable constituted those occupying managerial, supervisory, professional and highly skilled rank-and-file job positions.
37
3.3.4
The 42 percent of the hires in SBFZ are skilled labour: based on the Aecom
3.3.5
The workforce is in general male-dominated: with 71 percent of the hires in SBFZ
3.3.6
Majority of the women hires are in the services and manufacturing sectors:
business survey results conducted in May 2008. males and 29 percent females.
Women hires are concentrated, hence account for a large employment share, respectively in the manufacturing, services and household services sector. They accounted for the larger employment share, at 59 percent, in the manufacturing sector. A majority at 54 percent of the total working women population are deployed in the services sector alone.
Locational Sources of Labour for SBFZ 3.3.7
Majority, at 62 percent, of the hires in SBFZ are from Olongapo and Zambales:
Of the 76,832 total hires at the SBFZ, 39.9 percent (30,689 persons) are from Olongapo City; 21.7 percent (16,696 persons) from Zambales Province and 12.9 percent (9,910 persons) from Bataan Province. Table 16: Sources of SBFZ Workforce by Location Mftg.
Services
Shipbuilding/ Marine-related Services
Construction
Domestic Helpers/ Caretakers
Total
Percentag e
No. of Firms Workforce
76 14,755
886 33,228
39 20,683
135 7,620
546
1136 76,832
100%
Male Femal e
6,070 8,685
21,085 12,143
19,765 918
7,400 220
219 327
54,539 22,983
70.98% 29.02%
Sources Olongapo Zambales Bataan Pampanga Tarlac NCR All Others No Address
6,410 3,544 3,121 575 35 240 825 5
16,311 5,392 4,433 1,283 75 2,043 3,691 -
4,695 6,459 1,701 358 267 1,113 6,090
2,727 1,301 655 263 36 1,080 1,503
546 -
30,689 16,696 9,910 2,499 413 4,476 12,109 40
39.94% 21.73% 12.90% 3.25% 0.76% 5.83% 15.76%
Source: SBMA Labor Department Manpower Services Division
3.3.8
Labour supply from the outside nearby localities and region are relied upon to fill in the demand for engineering and technology graduates and professionals: Of the 76,832 total hires at the SBFZ, closed to 10 percent of the workforce are sourced outside of Olongapo City, Zambales and Bataan and from outside the Central Luzon region to help fill in mainly the demand for engineering, technology graduates and professionals.
In addition, as per feedback of employers and employment agencies to Olongapo City PESO Manager, the positions of engineering and accounting personnel whether for SBFZ locators or non-locators are not easily filled up not just because of the local shortage of graduates but also the lack of licensed practitioners and experienced professional to meet the level and complexity of a particular job vacancy.
38
3.4
Support Institutions: Meeting Demand for Labour at SBFZ
3.4.1
SBMA Labor Department: Mandate, Relevant Services and Effect
3.4.1.1
The SBMA Labor Department key thrust is to practically take care of the workforce requirements of the Freeport from pre-employment to re-employment.
Guided by the pertinent provisions in Republic Act 7227 or the Bases Conversion Act of 1992, the SBMA Labor Department adheres to a policy of industrial peace, harmony and productivity within the SBFZ in order to foster a business and commercial atmosphere that encourages investment inflow, creation of employment opportunities, addressing the socio-economic needs of the people in the provinces, cities and municipalities surrounding the Freeport Zone. 3.4.1.2
The SBMA Labor Department has four units to administer its mandate: (a) Manpower Services Division, (b) Conciliation and Employee Welfare Division (c) Service Contracting Office and (d) Workforce Development Division.
3.4.1.3
The Manpower Services Division of the Labor Department is primarily tasked to provide recruitment assistance to SBFZ locators: More specifically it is tasked to (a) Assist (by providing information, facilitation and regulation services) investors and locators to effectively source their employment requirement needs. (b) Oversee and regulate the employment of foreign nationals (expatriates) in the SBF and advise them to submit the required documents to facilitate processing of their Certificate of Non-Availability Subic Special Working Visa (SSWV) and ensure the enforcement of relevant Philippine laws and regulations (c) Post notices for vacancy/exam/trade test/interview/work. Coordinate with PESO Officers for information dissemination to their respective municipalities. (d) Approve requests for gate pass forwarded by investors/locators for a worker under their cognizance, in conformance with recruitment policies and guidelines
3.4.1.4
In policy and practice SBMA gives high priority to the working population of the towns and provinces contiguous to the SBFZ: In the efforts of promoting investments and effecting employment opportunities within the Freeport Zone, and consistent with the SBMA policy to give high priority to the working age population of the towns and provinces contiguous to the SBFZ, the Division hence proceeds in the following order in its manpower targeting and sourcing efforts: o o o
3.4.1.5
Immediate town or localities (Olongapo City, Zambales, Bataan) Other provinces in Region III e.g. Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan Outside Region III e.g. National Capital Region, Pangasinan in Ilocos Region, and Baguio in Cordillera Administrative Region
The Manpower Services Division establishes and maintains strategic linkages with labor market institutions within and outside of the region to fill in the labour requirements of the locators particularly in relation with: (a) (b) (c) (d)
Locators through HR focal person Job-seekers, applicants, probationary and casual hires Academic institutions in and out of the region Public employment service offices (PESOs) in and out of Olongapo City
39 3.4.1.6
The Manpower Services Division conducts individual consultation with locators and schools within and outside the region to discuss details on requirements for preemployment, job fairs, filling up critical jobs, job application, workers rights and values that have to be promoted
3.4.1.7
The Manpower Services Division regularly announces job vacancies in SBFZ: It maintains a separate building beside the SBMA Gate as this serves as a central window for interested job seekers where they can find vacancy postings, submit their applications and get the status of their application. Further, it disseminates information and other promotional materials on job vacancies through its established linkages and arrangements with PESOs, LGUs, schools and radio stations in the city, province and region and through other practicable means.
3.4.1.8
It essentially does the pre-screening of applicants and leaves the full screening and selection to the concerned locator’s HR department: When the Manpower
Services Division starts receiving responses from applicants, it starts executing the prescreening process for job applicants considering foremost the general background of the applicant in line with SBMA security requirements and general requirements set by concerned locator. Thereafter, the HR department of the locator executes the full screening of an applicant vis-à-vis the competency requirements of a job and applicant overall fitness to a company. 3.4.1.9
It facilitates/regulates entry/exit of applicants, new hires and regulars in SBFZ: Once a locator decides who they want to consider for full screening process, hiring and/or regularization, its HR department informs the Manpower Division within ample time for the latter to issue timely notification of interview and examination schedule for concerned applicants, temporary 3-6 month entry/exit passes for new hires and/or one year entry/exit pass for regular hires.
3.4.1.10 It provides briefing/orientation for all issued with entry/exit passes. New hires are
provided with such in coordination with other divisions and department. Regularized employees are issued with one year entry/exit pass. Before one year has pass, the division in coordination with all divisions and departments of SBMA conduct another briefing/updating including lecture on the work rights of employees.
3.4.1.11 The Workforce Development Division of the Department is primarily tasked to
provide national government and SBMA policy briefings and coordinate training services for the workforce of the SBFZ locators: More specifically it is tasked to
(a) Coordinate and oversee the conduct of labor-related briefings, training and seminars,
(b) (c) (d)
(e) (f)
in coordination with DOLE and its local office, UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Trade and Industry, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, SBF-Personnel Management Association of the Philippines, Department of Health and Social Security System and the conduct of SBF workforce orientation, work values and pre-employment seminars. Initiate research surveys and studies to determine human resources and training requirements of existing and future investors Ensure the implementation of productivity improvement programs at the firm level Assist in the implementation of various training programs and arrangements such as on-the-job OJT training of local students, apprenticeship and learnership programs in coordination with TESDA, dual training system in coordination with TESDA and Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) in coordination with DOLE Provide secretariat services and other related function to the Subic Workforce Development Foundation Inc. Provide secretariat services and other related function to the SBMA Employees Welfare Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SBMA-EWMPC)
40 3.4.1.12 An eight-person team mans the Workforce Development Division: The team
includes the Division manager, five technical-administrative-liaison staff and two messengers/utility staff.
3.4.1.13 The Workforce Development Division establishes and maintains strategic
linkages with labor market institutions within and outside of the region to support the professionalization of the SBFZ workforce particularly in relation to (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Locators through HR focal person Schools On the job trainees, apprentices and learners TESDA-Zambales Government and private resource institutions for policy briefings, business/management/professional development seminars
3.4.1.14 The Division promotes among locators the opening up of OJT opportunities for
students which it deems strategic in sourcing locators workforce requirements: The Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) sector at SBFZ is one of those cluster of locators actively and consistently engaged in providing OJT opportunities for students to the point that companies prefer to have OJT trainees, especially those found quick to learn and with positive work attitude, absorbed into the regular ranks of their workforce.
3.4.1.15 The Division essentially provides information and facilitation services towards
effecting an OJT arrangement for a student: Particularly
(a) It provides a checklist of requirements to interested students for OJT arrangements with locators; a list of locators accepting OJT to schools. The school has to clear and endorse students request for application and endorses it to company accepting OJT. (b) It issues a gate pass to students accepted for OJT. Students and schools accept a waiver of the responsibility of SBMA for students. (c) It exercises restraint in too much involvement and liability for the students or concerned schools. By this posture, it paves the way for key officials respectively of the schools and the companies to directly connect and account for the students’ access, movement and performance at the Freeport (d) It provides all OJTs standard briefing and de-briefing session. 3.4.1.16 Thus far, engineering, HRM, business administration and accountancy students
can tap OJT opportunities at the Freeport and absorbed by the company. The OJT hours for students in engineering cover 1200 hours which could be performed by students in a span of 3 months. OJTs for engineering, HRM and accountancy have better chances of being absorbed into the regular workforce; business administration students have less chances as they normally get to do clerical jobs during OJT. .
3.4.2
PESO Olongapo City: Mandate, Relevant Services and Effect
3.4.2.1 The PESO or Public Employment Service Office in general: It is a non-fee charging
multi-employment service facility established or accredited pursuant to Republic Act No. 8759 otherwise known as the PESO Act of 1999 to carry out full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all, and for this purpose, to strengthen and expand the existing employment facilitation service machinery of the government particularly at the local levels.
41 3.4.2.2
The PESO shall be maintained largely by the LGUs and this is the case in Olongapo City: The law provides that there shall be established in all capital towns of
provinces, key cities, and other strategic areas a PESO which shall be community-based and maintained largely by local government units (LGUs) and a number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or community-based organizations (CBOs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs).” 3.4.2.3
The PESO linked to DOLE offices: A PESO shall be linked to the regional offices of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for coordination and technical supervision, and to the DOLE central office particularly the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE), to constitute the national employment service network.
3.4.2.4
The general and specific objectives of a PESO: Generally to ensure the prompt, timely and efficient delivery of employment service and provision of information on the other DOLE programs. Specifically to (a) Provide a venue where people could explore simultaneously various employment
options and actually seek assistance they prefer; (b) Serve as referral and information center for the various services and programs of DOLE and other government agencies present in the area; (c) Provide clients with adequate information on employment and labor market situation in the area; and (d) Network with other PESOs in the region for job exchange purposes. 3.4.2.5
The functions of a PESO, depending on capacities of a facility, can cover (a) Encourage employers to regularly submit a list of job vacancies in their respective establishments to facilitate exchange of labor market information services to job seekers and employers by providing employment services to job seeker, both for local and overseas employment, and recruitment assistance to employers; (b) Develop and administer testing and evaluation instruments for effective job selection, training and counselling; (c) Provide persons with entrepreneurship qualities access to the various livelihood and self-employment programs offered by both government and non-governmental organizations at the provincial/city/municipal/barangay levels by undertaking referrals for such programs; (d) Undertake employability enhancement trainings/seminar for jobseekers as well as those would like to change career or enhance their employability. This function is presently supervised by TESDA and conducted by other training; (e) Provide employment and occupational counselling, career guidance, mass motivation and values development activities; (f) Conduct pre-employment counselling and orientation to prospective local and overseas workers; (g) Provide reintegration assistance services to returning Filipino migrant workers: and (h) Perform such functions to wilfully carry out the objectives of RA 8759.
3.4.2.6
The range of special employment and recruitment services a PESO can offer and deliver depending on capacities and LGU allocated resources of a facility: (a) Jobs Fairs shall be conducted periodically all over the country to bring together in one venue job seekers and employers for immediate matching; (b) Livelihood and Self-employment Bazaars shall give clients information on the array of livelihood programs they choose to avail of, particularly in the rural areas;
42 (c) Special Credit Assistance for Placed Overseas Workers – will enable poor but qualified applicants avail of opportunities for overseas employment; (d) Special Program for Employment of Students and Out-of-School Youth (SPESOS) shall endeavour to provide employment to deserving students and out-of-school youths and out-of-school youths coming from poor families during summer and/or Christmas vacations as provided for under Republic Act No. 7323 and its implementing rules, to enable them to pursue their education; (e) Work Appreciation Program (WAP) - aims to develop the values of work appreciation and ethics by exposing the young to actual work situations; (f) Workers Hiring for Infrastructure Projects (WHIP) – is in pursuance of Republic Act No. 6685 which requires construction companies, including the Department of Public Works and Highways and contractor for government-funded infrastructure projects, to hire thirty percent (30%) of skilled and fifty percent (50%) of unskilled labor requirements from the areas where the project is constructed/located; and (g) Other programs/activities developed by DOLE – are to enhance employment assistance provision to PESO clients, particularly for special groups of disadvantaged workers such as persons with disabilities (PWDs) and displaced workers. 3.4.2.7
The PESO clients include (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) (k)
3.4.2.8
Jobseekers Employers Students Out of School Youth Migratory workers Planners Researchers Labor Market Information Users Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) Displaced Workers
The PESO in Olongapo City: It is a well-functioning office alternatively relied upon by SBFZ locators for sourcing its labor requirements especially: This is allowable for SBFZ locators to resort to PESO Olongapo City if the SBMA is clearly unable to meet the requirements of the locator.
3.4.2.9
The PESO-Olongapo works with over 100 employment agencies in a given year.
Most of agencies maintain its respective offices in the National Capital Region. There are those with main or satellite offices in the region. 3.4.2.10 The PESO-Olongapo prefers to organize SRA (special recruitment assistance)
activities over Job Fairs as a better way to bring labour supply to demand: Unlike other PESO facilities in the country, the PESO-Olongapo City veered away from the practice of organizing job fairs which the manager and staff of PESO found more tiring, costly and less effective in enabling applicants to find a start-up or new job and enabling employers to find desired number and quality of hires.
3.4.2.11 For during job fairs, the PESO would have to simultaneously engage a range of
employers, schools, barangays, other PESO facilities and LGUs in an out of the
43 province, would-be and already graduates, employed and unemployed jobseekers all at the same time which had some disadvantages for all parties concerned. 3.4.2.12 In organizing an SRA or special recruitment activities the PESO team members
in policy and action are mindful of the following
1. For the protection of the city government and the protection of all job seekers: Prior
to the conduct of SRA proper, PESO personnel conducts due background checking of the employment agencies (if new) and the employers they represent especially the overseas-based.
2. For the benefit of the investor or employer: Each investor/employer directly or through representation an employment agency gets to have dedicated time for receiving assistance both in preparing and conducting their recruitment activities. Consultation with the investor/ employer/ employment agency concerned is conducted for needs assessment.
3. For the benefit of its labour sourcing partners and jobseekers: The PESO staff requires employers/agents to provide them with ample time and information to enable them to package and widely disseminate information materials and announcements considering the lead time of partners and all channels deemed practicable – schools, barangays, other towns, other PESO facilities, radio stations, etc; briefs and prepares applicants for mock interviews.
4. For the benefit of the job seekers coming from the city: The PESO in coordination with barangay officials and schools conducts confidence building pre-recruitment activities such as career guidance, mock-runs of examinations and interviews, etc..
5. For the benefit of the job seekers and families in relation to overseas employment The PESO by policy and practice discourages overseas employment agencies from two things in order to effectively protect the vulnerabilities of the job seekers and their families. One is for employment agencies to conduct all testing in Olongapo City and not ask job applicants to go to Manila if there is no certainty of work. Two is for employment agencies not to request for any SRA for domestic helpers. The PESO overseas employment only for skilled and highly skilled people. 3.4.2.13 The PESO holds such SRAs 2-3 times per week respectively for 2-3 different
employers. As an illustration, the telephone giant PLDT, now the current telephone service provider for the Olongapo and adjacent areas replacing the previous service provider requested an SRA of line men with background o. Another
3.4.2.14 All education and training institutions have established link with the PESO . The
PESO clients are generally the fresh graduates and thus normally these are only for local employment. The lack of work experience is a high barrier for these fresh graduates to work in other regions or abroad. Hence many still end up working in the Freeport. But the challenge is how to retain the talents within SBFZ, city and province especially after getting needed experience and qualifications.
3.4.2.15 The challenge is how to have more employers who can accept applicants without
experience and train them on the job with appropriate training allowance. The experience of Yazaki Torres in Region IV is instructive at this point as it was known to have continually invested in training of locales with zero experience, keep basic wages low but complemented with effective schemes for earning performance bonus, defining and administering meaningful non-wage benefits and obtaining a favourable employee culture environment that would effectively keep the rank-and-file within the pool.
44
3.4.3
TESDA – Zambales Office: Mandate, Relevant Services and Effect
3.4.3.1
TESDA is an attached agency of DOLE. It has worked in many areas attached to
skills and employability. It is a strategic agency to work with in delivering skills and entrepreneurship training program to a wider range of working age population (especially among the youth sector which constitute the two-thirds of the working age population) across the country given its mandate, local reach, training delivery and support structure, track record and show of interest. 3.4.3.2
TESDA as an agency was created in 1994 by virtue of Republic Act 7796 amalgamating three different public agencies (the National Manpower and Youth Council, the Apprenticeship Division of the Bureau of Local Employment and the Bureau of Vocational and Technical Education under the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports) engaged in skills development with the objective of improving the quality and the relevance of training programs in the country.
3.4.3.3
TESDA is represented in around 47 of the 78 provinces in country. It has as field
offices at the provincial level that directly administers to date 117 technical-vocational schools in the country and accredited over a thousand training and education institutions and thus could potentially reach out to and service young people in-school and out-ofschool youth, youth in transition from school to work, underemployed youth in the formal and informal settings, unemployed jobseekers and those educated and skilled people not actively in the labor force. 3.4.3.4
The TESDA-Zambales Province office located in New Cabalan, Olongapo City directly administers the provincial training center and supervises nine (9) public and privately owned training centers and over 22 accredited schools. Out of the 22 schools, 13 or 59% are classified technical-vocational schools, 7 or 32% higher education institutions that also offer non-degree courses while 2 or 9% are Department of Education supervised schools offering short-term vocational courses.
3.4.3.5
School-based enrolment in TVET programs increased from 3,739 in the school year
2001/2002, to 7,347 in the year 2002/2003 and went into a low in 2003/2004 before enrolment steadily increased each year. 3.4.3.6
The combined enrolment of the public and private training centers totalled to
1,355, an increment by 47% from the reported enrolment of 922 in the year 2004.The public training center share from the total enrolment output average to 42% and the remaining 58% are enrolment of private training centers particularly those who cover caregiver programs. 3.4.3.7
TESDA-Zambales Expanded Graduate Tracer Study for SY 2001-2002 yielded the following conclusions (a) Program offerings of the TVET schools in the province and city cater to the 15-24 age groups, single, males and high school graduates. (b) The two year information technology, electric/electronics and automotive courses were the most attractive to the students (c) The Provincial Training Center, which is one of the centers directly administered by TESDA was more serious in implementing the Competency Assessment Examination that the TESDA-accredited private schools. This is evidenced by the great disparity in the percentage of graduates from these schools who took the test. (d) Passing percentage in the competency assessment is higher among Center-based graduates that the private school-based graduates
45 (e) Industry absorption rate of TVET graduates increased from the time of enrolment to the time of survey by 8 percent in school based graduates and 18 percent among center based graduates. (f) Industry absorption rate of TVET graduates at the time of the survey is 44 percent for school based and 29 percent for center-based with 47% permanently employed. (g) Highest employment rate was among graduates of electronic/electrical courses although the highest in enrolment was in Information Technology courses. (h) Employment rate in the course related jobs was very low with 27% for school-based and 29% for center-based; in the course related industries was likewise low. The foregoing indicated mismatch of program offerings with the needs of the community and the industry. (i) Majority of the employed graduates worked with the private establishment within the province. Only a handful of the graduates had competency certificates (j) A greater percentage of the employed graduates in center-based programs assess their course as very useful to their jobs that the school-based graduates. 3.4.3.8
In December 2007, TESDA-Zambales accounted for the number of enrolees and graduates of TVET centers and schools for the skills areas displayed below: Table 17: TESDA School-based and Center Based Industry Oriented Offerings
Marina RAC Technology Healthcare Services Electrical Technology RA Technology Associate in Computer Technology Associate in Computer Secretarial Associate in Computer Technician Electronics Technology Electronics and Communications Technology Electronics and Telecommunication Technology Marine Electronic Technology Marine Electrical Technology Electrical Technology Automotive Technology Steward Deck Computer Technician Tourism, Hotel and Restaurant Operations Hotel and Restaurant Management Food and Beverage Servicing Practical Electricity Practical Nursing Caregiver Household Services 2 Years Auto-diesel mechanics Electronic serviceman for radio receivers Post Secondary Secretarial Course Cosmetology
PC Operations Certificate/Computer programming Computer programming specialist Computer hardware servicing Computer engineering technology Computer programming and analysis Medical Transcription secretarial 3 Years Instrumentation and Process Control Technology 3 Years Electronics Technology Web Graphics Mass Communication Industrial Electricity Electronics and Computer Technology Architectural drafting and Design Technology Diploma in Info Systems Management Basic Dressmaking 2 Years Auto-Diesel Mechanic 1 Year HRM Data encoder Diploma in Computer Engineering Call Center Training Computer Systems and Network Technology English as a Second Language Certificate in Cyber Computer Programming Mass Communication 100 Hour Finishing Course for Contact Center Agents
Source: TESDA – Zambales
Across the centers and schools, a total of 3,493 persons (1821 males, 1672 females) were enrolled in a TVET institution for any one of the abovementioned skills area. On the other hand, a total of 621 (269 males, 352 females) were able to complete or graduate from their chosen fields certified with full qualification. Note that women figured higher than men in terms of capacity to graduate. Many of these graduates are strongly inclined to go out of the country as a care-giver while one can count by the fingers graduates of the other technical-vocational courses.
46
3.4.3 3.4.3.1
Select HEI and TVET Schools: Mandate, Relevant Services and Effect Local higher education institutions and tech-voc education institutions are deemed key direct players in the formation and adequacy of labor skills for SBFZ requirement that must assess, design, market among local population and deliver
industry-responsive education and training programs. It is in view of the foregoing that a mini-study was conducted to generate indications on how and how far select local higher and technical-vocational education institutions link with SBFZ locators and non-locators in meeting industry workforce competitiveness requirements. 3.4.3.2
Key school officials were engaged in an interview meeting to generate data and some analytic notes as to the adequacy of the labor supply for the SBFZ locators’
business requirements. The respondents from even schools respectively are one or a combination of the following: school president, school founder and owner, school director, department director or head charged of technical faculty, academic affairs, alumni and external affairs, career guidance, course offerings and registration office. 3.4.3.3
The key questions and discussion areas covered in the mini-study were on (a) the mandate and thrusts of their schools (b) the general and/or specific strategies of assessing, choosing, designing, marketing and delivering industry curricular programs, (c) the existence, functionality and efficacy of institutional linkages of their schools with SBFZ locators and non-locators; (d) the academic programs that are student-popular and industry-responsive (e) their academic staff complement and training (f) the traceability of the status of their graduates (if with tracer studies) (g) the employability, marketability and mobility of their graduates (h) the challenges for the school to make their programs and graduates ready and responsive to market and local industry needs.
3.4.3.4
Reference # 1 - The Columban College (a) The school is a premier and one of the older higher learning institutions in Olongapo City which started way back in 1961. It is a privately-run school offering basic, technical-vocational and tertiary education and training programs respectively under the regulations of the Department of Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Commission of Higher Education. (b) It is committed to wholistic development of the human person and society. Its thrust is thus “to produce well-trained and skilled, dynamic and competitive individuals imbued with values and attitudes and responsive to the changing needs of the local, national and global communities”. (c) Its goals are to provide opportunities that will enable individuals to acquire high level of instruction in various professional, technical and vocational courses of studies; develop innovative programs, projects and models of practice by undertaking research and studies; promote community development through relevant extension programs; and provide opportunities for entrepreneurship and employability of graduates. (d) It arranges for student scholarships in aid to fulfilling its mission and goals,: Scholarships and grants are drawn from the fund facility of the City Government Scholarship, Senator Richard Gordon Scholarship and City Scholar for Culture and Arts.
47 (e) Commerce and education are the schools main curricular programs designed for and subscribed to by students as undergraduate and graduate level programs. (f) Enrolment figures for commerce and education programs were traditionally
high but of late employment share of the nursing program stood highest
Commerce: - Traditionally and until now commerce has been the most popular undergraduate program among the enrolees. - It has two major tracks – management and accountancy. - The school is capable of producing board passers in accountancy; also of regularly upgrading its management program incorporating emerging industry and occupational trends. - Instead of introducing new course offerings arising from new developments in the market, certain possible stand alone programs are instead incorporated as a sub-disciplines of management such as HRM or tourism management making a commerce graduate not just a generalist but a specialist in one or two areas. - The school runs its own hotel facilities in a separate location or area away from the campus which can serve as a convenient OJT facility especially for the HRM graduating students Education: - This program of the school is most popular among students - It is capable of being a top producer of local educators. Evidently, it has established an image and a record of being the source of graduate, board passer, experienced and forward-looking or visionary teachers. One such teacher is a founding member of own local school in SBFZ (e.g. the Aura College). - It has two major tracks – elementary education and secondary education’ - Secondary education specialization areas include Mathematics, Science, English and Physical Education. Nursing: - Because of the growing demand for professional nurses in and out of the country and considering that the country may lose its professionals for other country, the school has also embarked on a curricular program for nursing both at the undergraduate and graduate level (nursing management). - The graduate program targets nurses who had returned from overseas contract work with a clear objective of cost-effectively acquiring enhanced or additional qualifications for upward or lateral career mobility (g) The school also has an engineering program which cover specialization areas
respectively in the fields of civil, electrical, industrial and electronics.
Engineering - It has fairly developed programs respectively for electronics engineering and civil engineering and consequently produced from graduates board passers. - Of late with the challenge of producing more skilled labour in the identified critical skills sectors of the engineering and ICT fields, the school also opened electrical engineering and industrial engineering programs. - So far, the College has a standing capacity of annually producing at most -
13 civil engineers 11 electronics and communication engineers 3-5 electrical engineers 3-5 industrial engineers
All graduates are sought after by SBFZ locators. Unfortunately, the school, or any other school in the city or province offers a program.
48 -
Although the school has a faculty member who is duly licensed, experienced and experienced overseas work as a mechanical engineer, it is unlikely to develop a mechanical engineering program. The school has reservations about opening one such program as it would require huge investments in putting up a mechanical shop to make the particular engineering program truly industry-responsive. Unless the school could tie-up with a company that would provide them with the necessary facilities to produce intended types of graduates for its requirements.
(h) The school also offers associate or technical-vocational programs. These include certificate or short-term non-degree programs, packaged and offered stand alone or ladderized, on information technology, practical electricity, industrial technology and hotel and restaurant management among others and all these are linked with local industry requirements at SBMA. Industrial technology was designed with MERALCO Foundation. The college has an industrial technology course on aircraft and aeroflight mechanics. (i) The school can produce a total of 200-300 enrolees and graduates for HRM and Tourism alone. It can produce also a lot of nursing graduates practically set to go out of the country. It can produce as much industrial technology graduates who can be readily absorbed by locators in SBZF and with experience and by choice can later on opt to pursue their economic goals outside of the country. (j) How do Columban graduates fare in the labor market? -
Electrical engineering graduates have been and can be readily hired by the SBMA Public Utility Division where the former initially acquired hands on training through prior OJT arrangement.
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Business management graduates are accepted as OJT trainees in companies but are normally given clerical positions and hence are not given jobs that could easily lead to direct application of their academic assets and create a ready record of “relevant experience” for jobs they wish to apply for.
-
Industrial technology and management graduates are also employed in SBFZ. Companies call the schools and ask for their list of graduates.
-
Instrumentation and process control technology: The most number of enrolees and graduates come from the MERALCO Foundation which produced four batches of graduates at 100 persons per batch. This was offered for free. MERALCO Foundation partnered with SBMA foreseeing the eventuality of the demand for its services in developing industry workforce requirements in line with electrical engineering and allied technology.
(k) School initiatives, practices and experiences on linking with industries and
meeting their business requirements. -
The school regularly links up with the industry for continuing upgrade of its course offerings. It has incorporated in its short or full course offerings skillsbased subjects such as use of auto-cad or computer aided design program into its computer studies program as a result of consulting with particular companies. This has in effect attracted enrolees from among the employees of SBFZ locators as well as the returning overseas workers who wish to cost-effectively enhance their qualifications and increase chances of fetching for themselves more rewarding jobs locally or elsewhere.
49 -
It mainstreamed 84 hours call center training for business and HRM programs. This covers simulation and skills training on actual practice of good pronunciation, grammar, handling in bound and out bound transactions which capacitates graduates not just to get call center jobs but also increase selfconfidence during job interviews, applying in non-local or overseas work and landing, adjusting and retaining a job accordingly. It has produced graduates who succeeded in chosen HRM-related careers in Singapore and USA.
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It decentralized the practice of linking with industries. This means on the one hand, every academic department of the school has an OJT coordinator charged of initiating and sustaining linkages with the target locators’ HR department; on the other hand, the locator’s HR department has to coordinate in advance with focal office of the concerned school to enable a company to secure a slot; prepare for and participate in a job fair. The school’s organized job fairs can only accommodate 20 locators or industry players at a time.
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Job fairs cannot fill in all postings; engineering vacancies are usually left unfilled. Job fairs are intended to benefit both SBFZ locators and non-locators but are separately held respectively for each. The school recognizes though the two groups have a common need for business critical skills in the fields engineering and ICT fields
-
Locators and non-locators do not see job fairs as necessary and so go for the list of graduated students. This is true that locators do not respond to job fair invitations if they are only after the scarce yet specialized types of graduates but which are hardly produced by any other schools combined. Hence, companies practically get the list of the school’s graduating students, directly link with the latter and offer them a job.
-
The school ties up with SIFE in implementing an enterprise outreach program: If this initiative can be sustained, growth of micro and small entrepreneurs in and around SBMA and potentially serve as the supply base for local industries’ other material resource requirements.
-
Recently the school invested in a swimming pool, related facilities and instructor inline with the need to make it a mandatory subject for Tourism (being a Bay area), Nursing (for emergency) and HRM (for those in cruise line HRM jobs)
(l) Based on an old school practice, one way of attracting students to pursue non-popular fields of studies is to tie up the need to produce particular kinds of graduates such as (in the past) teaching and library science professionals to awarding of student assistantship opportunities. Although today, a student assistant can take up any course that he or she is inclined to pursue. The old practice or strategy can be revived for attracting engineering andt technology enrolees and increasing its graduates. But the school recognizes there are other factors concerned that must be explored first. This can be best explored as science/engineering/technology scholarships in partnership with locators and complemented with private sector investment on school engineering workshops like mechanical shops.
Reference # 2: Lyceum of Subic Bay (a) An overview: Lyceum is one of the oldest schools in the country. But Lyceum in Subic Bay is a rather new school. It is on the sixth -year of operation, being first established in the year 2002. It offers baccalaureate and post baccalaureate courses as well as short-term or non-degree courses
50 On the fifth year of its operation in 2007, the school delivered its first batch of ECE (electronic and communication engineering) graduates. All the graduates have been and are still employed in the SBMA. For all four-year course graduates the school has already produced its second batch of graduates. (b) The school is guided by a cycle of identifying, prioritizing and taking ground level actions n meeting the needs of local economy and industries: The school recognized the very big demand for ICT and engineering graduates that even Manila and other non-local graduates had to come to live and work the City and Freeport. Such graduates are not only needed as practitioners in industry but critically in the local academic community as instructors for future industry players. Lyceum in Subic has so far launched Computer Sciences and Electronics and Communications engineering courses and pioneered its Custom Administration program. They deemed it an important role to produce local graduates for the local industries and economy but would understand that many of them would eventually go out of the country after gaining work experience from the Freeport. (c) The school locally adopted nationally launched TESDA ladderized program to allow economically constraint students ease of entry and exit from a program to initially work on basic qualifications to get a first job, generate income and later on progressively enhance qualifications for better job, career and income opportunities. (d) The school’s HRM program was most popular and truly industry responsive owing to the amply developed linkage and OJT arrangement of the school with select local and international hotels and restaurants. Such is a popular practice among schools offering HRM to produce locally and internationally competitive graduates. It has so far one student who was sent abroad under an OJT arrangement. (e) The school’s initial graduates and employment status: Lyceum has so far produced 10 licensed customs broker from among its customs administration students Fedex and other airfreighter hired them. It has four ICT graduates; the Freeport absorbed two and the Lyceum instantly hired the two best graduates. One was hired as a school teacher and another as one to computerize the ID and related systems in school. Based on feedback from the graduates, the school provided them with the correct foundation for their profession and afforded them with room to experiment application of theoretical learning even while still a student. (f) Establishing and sustaining linkages with particular companies: Recognizing the scarcity of professionals to keep the school quality assured of its instruction and graduates, they invite professionals on a part-time basis from the SBFZ industries to deliver instruction in their respective fields of specialization which directly link the academic preparation to shop realities. The school has plans to continually meet the needs of the locators through investments in the areas of research and development; striking co-financing scheme like provision of subsidies from industry in putting up school facilities responsive to their needs and other modes of enhancing and sustaining industry-academe linkages (g) Matching curricular programs with culture-building subjects: The Head of the Academic Affairs Office cautioned that all the foregoing would be useless if not matched with culture-building subjects and activities in school that would promote local talents to work for the local economy and co-operate with non-local through Formation of good values Nationalism and Patriotism Fair and effective wages and benefits.
51 3.4.3.5
Reference # 3 - AMA Computer University - Olongapo City Campus. (a) An overview: The AMA Olongapo Campus began to be operational in 2001. Its first batch of four-year course graduates was delivered in 2003. There were about 80103 initial enrolees with most practically completing their chosen courses in two years time given the fact that the school operates within a trimester system. Many of the enrolees were transferees from other schools and/or with parents whose work brought the family in the area. (b) School course offerings are nationally determined: But not all of the engineering and AB courses that the AMA in Metro Manila offers are offered in a particular campus. It so happened that the initial programs the AMA – Olongapo offered were what locators and non-locators critically needed. Generally covered programs are computer, business administration and engineering. (c) It has actually five full baccalaureate courses in the city campus. Computer Science, Information Technology and Computer Engineering are covered under the major discipline group of Computer Studies; Electronics and Communication Engineering under Engineering and Business Administration. (d) It also offers health allied courses on associate program status – on practical nursing and nursing aid – as such are in-demand locally for those going overseas. However, TESDA has yet to establish the regulations governing practical nursing. (e) Customs administration is a new course offering in school too. Thus far, it has delivered its first batch of graduates (22 of them) in March 2007 and cumulatively delivered 50 graduates by March 2008. The number of enrolees in the program is annually increasing in number. There is a huge market for them with the current school years graduating student (f) AMA Computer University has a centrally-operated Career Guidance and
Placement System based in Makati City. It was recently established -
to facilitate sure placement of its students across localities to establish industry linkages and arrangements to assure quality education and easy school-to-work transition for its students and would be graduates and to keep track of the labor market absorption/retention/mobility of its graduates.
(g) The same Career Guidance and Placement Department has a short-term plan in relation to SBFZ and other economic zones. It intends to strike an agreement with SBMA for the locators to give priority to its students for OJT and to its graduates when hiring.. (h) Meanwhile, AMA-Olongapo keeps informal linkages with the industry sector: The school has started and kept low key informal linkages with the industry to facilitate OJT arrangements for its students. Such has thus far paved the way for the enhanced employability of and marked priority given to its graduates. Evidently, there were locators who regularly directly approached the school, asked for list of its graduates, invited prospective hires for interview, asked students to meet process requirements them and eventually get to be gainfully employed. There is no direct linkage yet between AMA-Olongapo and the Freeport Chamber of Commerce but only on a per case basis with a particular locator and non-locator. A formal agreement between AMA University through its Centralized Students and Graduate Placement System and the locators through organized business group such as the Freeport Chamber can potentially strengthen industry-academe linkage that would work for the advantage of all concerned SBFZ parties.
52 (i) OJT has worked for the advantage of many private and public organizations, in and out of Freeport, as all students regardless of their major concentration are computer literate. The students practically helped/contributed in the development of information systems in said organizations. FedEx, the City Hall and the Local Bureau of Internal Revenue regularly relied on OJT. They are the only school that conducts webcast interactive learning session. (j) There are more computer engineering than ECE graduates as many of the students would rather take up something that would not have to go through the difficulties associated with passing the board examination. (k) STI College and the A-IE-Commerce are two of the other computer schools operating in the city which likewise offer degree and non-degree programs in the areas of business management, computer studies, engineering and technology and produce graduates that are initially and mainly absorbed in the SBFZ, the city, and Zambales province.. 3.4.3.6
Reference # 4 – The Mondriaan Aura College (a) An overview: The school is a non-profit, non-stock corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was first founded in 1993, an alternative school that promotes in principle and process an education for liberation. What makes the graduates of the College most sought after by SBFZ locators and locators in other special economic zones in and out of the region is the confidence instilled by the school among its students and carried on by the graduates that everyone of them is good, can excel and make a difference. In fact, all of the school’s engineering graduates who went through an OJT arrangement with SBFZ locators have been occupying positions of higher responsibilities with the same company. Other graduates in non-engineering programs have successful careers in other economic zones (Laguna and Clark economic zones as examples). (b) Founded on the principles of education for liberation, the school fosters academic excellence, professional responsibility and social awareness. Hence towards this end Aura College seeks to provide Provide an intellectual training which will promote a value system founded on human rights, upright living and the origin, dignity and destiny of man Contribute to national development by educating the youth for intelligent, effective, creative skills and professions thereby providing the necessary and enlightened leadership in the various fields of social development Be the seat of intellectual dedication constantly seeking and opening horizons of knowledge ensuring the positive applications of man’s potentials and capabilities in response to the needs of the society, characterized by institutional and personal commitment to fundamental truths and principles. Make itself in conjunction with other social institutions a more dynamic and accessible instrument for promoting equality, justice, consciousness among men. (c) The school started with offering a range of baccalaureate programs in liberal
arts, engineering and/or management programs including
Engineering programs with specialization in Electronic and Communications, Industrial and Computer Engineering Bachelor of Science programs respectively for Computer Science, Management, Accountancy, Nursing, Psychology Bachelor of Arts programs mainly Communication Arts and Education major in Math, Health and Science, English and Filipino
53 (d) The school also offers associate/ladderized, two-year and short-run
certificate programs in
Computer Technology leading to BS Computer Science Accountancy leading to BS Accountancy Hotel and Restaurant Management Computer Technician Computer Secretarial Practical Nursing
(e) Its newest course to date is
Six-Month Caregiver Course Aircraft Maintenance Technology Computer Hardware Servicing
(f) All course offerings are based on industry needs assessed, identified and prioritized accordingly in consultation with particular expert practitioners from locators of relevance to the programs of the school. (g) The school’s faculty members are largely industry practitioners from the SBFZ and certified experts in their fields of disciplines of instruction. Most of its faculty members are coming from the industry working in SBFZ including their own graduates. (h) The school consistently had a 100% industry absorption rate of their engineering and technology graduates given the fact that it is a “skilled labor short” market situation where their limited own and other local schools’ engineering and technology graduates are sought after to fill in the many requirements of the latter’s kind. It is a unique situation wherein companies have approached almost every school there is in the city and province asking for the list of their graduates in and attempting to capture 100% all graduates for their new hires. (i) Particularly for the ECE and IE courses, the school’s graduates are easily absorbed by SBFZ locators. In fact many of them due to the culture of excellence that the school has inculcated among its students have now assumed supervisory nd managerial posts. (j) The school beyond making students IT-literate are required to take up call center subjects covering developing American accent, learning geography and enunciating English language literate to make them easily employable. This applies foremost to all liberal arts and management students. 3.4.3.7
Reference # 5 – Freeport Institute for Research, Science and Technology (a) The FIRST or Freeport Institute for Research, Science and Technology
evolved from what was formerly known as the country’s Philippine Science Technology Center. It is relatively new in the area but now considered the number one training institute inside the Freeport. It has been operational for seven years to the present year of 2008.
(b) The school’s main thrust is to deliver and provide
Industry-based curricular programs
54
Occupational and employable skills and knowledge for its students through technical training, curriculum and learning method Hands on learning opportunities through effecting a policy of complete laboratory facilities, one computer per student and fully equipped laboratory technology
(c) The institute mainly offers the following courses that which essentially service the needs of the SBFZ workforce skills requirement.
3 Year Information Communication Technology 2 Year Computer Secretarial Technology 2 Year Computer Hardware Technology 2 Year Diploma in Software Engineering 2 Year Electronics Technology and Servicing
(d) The institute also offers modular courses that can be taken as stand alone or
integrated subject of a full course in response to particular needs articulated by partner locators to provide clients with a full range market sensitivity, industry responsive skills and corresponding mind set
.
(e) Technical courses faculty are very much involved in the industry needs assessment, design of full and modular courses, modes of delivering a course and generation of feedback from learners and end-user. The officer in charge of curriculum development for technical subject primarily liaises with the locator’s HR manager along with concerned operations people.
(f) Students are afforded with industry study tours for a better appreciation of the
SBFZ workplace technology environment as well as a comparison of the technological environments of different firms in a given sector. For example, industry tours are also arranged with firms located in technopark /economic zones in Region IV.
(g) Graduates of the program have 100% percent absorption rate in the industry. How students actually fare in the labour market after completion of their training programs are made known through the annual observance of an alumni day. The institute being young, can easily organize its students working in and out of SBFZ to an alumni gathering.
(h) Faculty members of the institute are largely part-timers working as practicing professionals in the computer and electronics industry. All teaching and nonteaching personnel go through annual seminars and training to keep themselves abreast in their respective areas of professional practices.
(i) The institute which also handles a technical-vocational program for elementary and high school is positioned to create the supply base for future tertiary level enrolees with a strong research, science and technology appreciation and foundation.
3.4.3.8
Reference # 6 – Gordon College (a) It is relatively a new higher learning institution which was established and initially operational in 1999. It is a public school with its operating funds largely supported by the city government. It is however taking steps after almost a decade of operation to be revenue generating and self-supporting.
55
(j) It envisions itself to be a premier institution of higher learning committed to holistic development of the human person and society. It seeks to contribute, as
a mission of the institution, to produce well-trained and skilled, dynamic and competitive individuals imbued with values and changing attitudes and responsive to the changing needs of the local, national and global communities
(k) Hence, its goals are to: provide opportunities that will enable individuals to
acquire high level of instruction in various professional, technical and vocational courses of study; develop innovative programs, projects and models of practice by undertaking research and studies; promote community development through relevant extension programs; provide opportunities for entrepreneurship and employability of graduates.
(l) It offers scholarships in support of its school mission and goals tapping in to the resources of the City Scholarship, Senator Richard Gordon Scholarship and City Scholar for Culture and Arts.
(m) It offers baccalaureate degree programs deemed to be in demand both locally
and globally and enable graduates to pursue careers that would serve both the interest of the local economy and the socio-economic well-being of the graduates and the their families. These include:
Nursing Accountancy Business administration Education Computer sciences and information technology Customs administration
(n) It also offers ladderized programs for information technology and hotel and restaurant management which addresses one to immediately acquire skills and
credentials and make him/her employable, capable of addressing income needs and socio-economic mobility of the students who choose to go through the program and make use of it cost-effectively..
(o) It has graduate or master’s degree program – educational management, nursing management, public administration and business management 3.4.3.9
Reference # 7 – Holy Infant Jesus College (a) An overview: The school is a private non-sectarian school. It offers elementary, secondary and tertiary programs. Its tertiary level programs and facilities have been in existence for 13 years. (b) Criminology and Education are the top student-popular courses that the school offers. Hence both programs are know to be the largest in terms of enrolment as well as the largest in terms of the number of graduates produced by the school in the said fields. Many of the local police and security force of the SBZA, city, the province and the region are graduates of this school. (c) Commerce and Computer Science comes secondary in terms of popularity among students and communites
56 (d) Some graduates are from its associate or two-year courses which include
Hotel and Restaurant Services Computer Science Computer Secretarial
(e) The graduates can be easily absorbed locally and abroad when able to gain local experience: Many of those who were employed however in the SBFZ are working as factory production workers, on a contractual status, and do not necessarily make use of their acquired line disciplines in school. (f) The school is currently reviewing the line up of programs at the tertiary level and intends to focus on a few major programs it is good at and upgrade the content and delivery of instruction for the few programs it will have to maintain.
3.5
Labour Supply vs. Demand in SBFZ: Stakeholder Identified Trends, Issues and Challenges
3.5.1
On the Need to Address Scarce Skilled Labour for Business Critical Jobs
3.5.1.1
SBMA Labor Department: Perspectives, Experiences and Lessons Observations and views from SBMA Labor Department Manager and Manpower Services Division Chief corroborate observations made by other key respondents on labour sourcing locators and non-locators, city and non-local job seekers, seekers of local and overseas jobs which include (a) Difficulty to fill in locator’s requirements in specialized skills areas. Although locators’ workforce requirements in the general and lower level skill areas can be easily filled in despite the fast labour turnover, locators hardly find locally (associated to actual graduates) and even in other regions (associated to competing markets)
Adequate number of graduates in the fields of industrial, electrical, mechanical, and/or electronics and communication engineering and ICT. Duly licensed engineering and accounting practitioners Duly certified technicians for specified trades allied to engineering and technology discipline group
Such difficulty is evident with the limited number of schools which are offer engineering programs in the above-mentioned fields. In fact the few new schools that begun to address such gap have only recently produced their initial batches of graduates. However, in the case of Columban College, which has pretty established engineering programs (except for mechanical engineering), the enrolment rate is low even as they market the engineering degree programs during career promotions among high school students in and out of their own institution. The fact remains as that parents strongly influence their children in pursuing tertiary school degree programs oriented towards working abroad. While students according to AMA School Director would rather pursue engineering programs (computer engineering and industrial engineering over electronics, mechanical and electrical engineering).that would not require them to go through a professional board examination.
57 The maritime engineering graduates, practitioners and professionals constitute the largest local engineers in Olongapo City and Zambales Province and these are mainly products of the Central Luzon Polytechnic College. The civil engineering graduates constitute the next largest engineers group. Although there is no marked demand for salaried civil engineers in the area, the motivation to study and become licensed engineer has been for one to work their way to put up their own small business as an engineering contractor. This is the case of certain proportion of locales of the Olongapo City and province schooled in Manila’s big universities with the intention to return to their town to use their education to put up and manage their own businesses or start a public service career. The lack of local graduates of electronics and communication engineering is influenced by such a student mindset of having to take up computer engineering over ECE engineering as the latter requires a board examination in order to become a full pledged or professional practitioner. While the lack of local graduates of mechanical engineering is due to the absence of any school offering such for lack of capability to put up a modern day capital intensive mechanical engineering workshop for effective instruction. (b) Difficulty to find graduates who are English proficient and effective communicators who can clearly present, elaborate and defend thoughts which most locators consider desirable if not essential qualification for their would-be hires for posting in any of the various types of frontline jobs in the services sector in particular and generally an asset in any kind of work and workplace where more and more the trend is to work in teams, direct contact with clients and operate in a crosscultural and multi-country operating environment. (c) Difficulty in keeping and expanding established supply bases of engineering and technology graduates - eventually from colleges and universities in
National Capital Region (e.g. Mapua Institute of Technology FEATI University, Guzman Technological Institute), Pampanga (Angeles University), Baguio City (such as St. Louis University and all other universities) Pangasinan in Region I - Ilocos.
Such difficulty is evident with the limited number of schools offer engineering programs in the above-mentioned fields. In fact the few schools that address such gap have only recently produced their initial batches of graduates. 3.5.1.1
PESO-Olongapo: Perspectives, experiences and lessons These corroborate observations made by other key respondents on labour sourcing, locators and non-locators, city and non-local job seekers, job seekers of local and overseas jobs (a) On jobs easily and hardly filled up: The positions of waiters or waitresses are easily filled up whether these are for the SBFZ locators, city and province based industries or for deployment in land or sea-based facility in or outside of the region and country. The positions of engineering and accounting personnel are not easily filled up not just because of the lack of applicants but aggravated by the lack of licensed practitioners. Most other positions are not easily filled up due to the applicants’ lack of experience.
58 (b) On applicants easily and hardly hired: The job seekers falling within ages 22 to 35 who have relevant work experience are easily hired. More male than female within the said age bracket are hired though the difference is not that big. The equalizing factor is due to industry demand for female production operators. Most male applicants seek and eventually land for skilled positions. (c) On location of jobs applicants get hired for: Majority of the applicants who were hired through the PESO in Olongapo City are for local employment that is for the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the city and Zambales province. (d) Factors enabling and constraining applicants to land a job: Relevant experience and academic preparation for the job applied for are the most important factors considered by employers. Conversely, lack or absence of experience, academic preparation, skills certification and licensure are the mix of factors that inhibit employers from considering and hiring applicants. (e) Local employers who have difficulty in getting qualified applicants: Local employers who rigidly enforce a “comprehensive” set of qualifications have a hard time getting “qualified” applicants. “Comprehensive” to certain employers means, “three-in-one”. A case in point, a company looking for an accounting staff must carry with them not only a set of accounting skills but also a set of secretarial and a third set of administrative skills. (f) Overseas based employers who have difficulty getting qualified applicants: Overseas based employers find difficulty getting desired number of qualified applicants even where there exists in quantity and quality due to financial difficulties of the applicants. Overseas employment would entail covering costs for trade tests, medical examination, passport processing, placement fee and other travel related and settlement costs including costs of going to employment agencies in Manila that work in behalf of overseas employers. (g) An employment agency represents either a country or overseas based employer. Private sector-based employment agencies from within and outside the region do coordination work with the PESO and engage client-employers/principals to be present and involved during day/s of local special recruitment activities (SRA).
3.5.2
On the Need to Rethink on how to Cost-Effectively Manage Labour (a) Majority of workforce in SBZF are being kept in contractual status: As much as 60-70 percent of the workforce of a locator are kept on a contractual status even when tasks of a job are deemed necessary. Hence, labour-turnover in SBFZ is faster than it should especially in the manufacturing sector which can also be a costly exercise for locators as valuable hires eventually will have to be terminated after completion of five months (before the sixth month when a worker occupying a job position that is necessary for the business can assert for a regular employment status treatment. This is a practice often employed in labour intensive sectors which results in low employee morale, lower productivity and disputes against employer. (b) Most locators have yet to design for industry competitive wages, benefits and incentives to effectively keep it skilled workforce: Many of the locators according to the Workforce Development Division are not open to officially share information through surveys and benchmarking practices among themselves in aid to designing and implementing effective wages and benefits. American companies are known to offer superior or above industry packages but most others apparently do not and deemed not inclined to.
59
3.5.3
On the Need for Academe to Link-up with Industry and Community (a) Individual locators are apparently not inclined to invest in engineering and
technical skills training of their current workforce and all the more in the investing on facilities upgrading of skills and higher learning institutions where their potential skilled hires can be sourced: The Manpower Services
Division has the capacity to find skilled people required by locators but not in large and increasing volume. Local tertiary institutions typically have budgetary and facilities constraints inhibiting it from increasing capacities to start or upgrade curricular programs responsive to SBFZ locators and non-locators. (b) Encouraging more schools to invest in opening up, upgrading and aggressive marketing of critical professional and trade skill programs in the areas of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Information and Communication Technology and ancillary technician programs. (c) Sustain efforts for the skills formation, numerical expansion, certification and licensure of future engineering and technology professionals: Although the CHED made a pronouncement for colleges and universities to actively design business critical courses and effectively market it to householders at the barangay level to attract, increase and retain enrolment rates in the same, not much has been achieved yet. Students who have enrolled in newly created tertiary or vocational courses are still in their first or second year of school and so are not immediately available or utilizable by locators and non-locators of SBMA. (d) The SBMA Labour Services Department has yet to engage the Parents
Teachers Community Association in conducting job/career information and appreciation campaign for market/industry in-demand jobs deemed strategic for increasing number and quality graduates for a particular program that is market/industry in-demand. Parents according to surveys conducted in eight key cities, towns and province have been known to largely influence the career choices and directions of their children.
3.5.4
On the Need to Afford Welfare Provisions for both Local and Non-Local Hires (a) Equally investing in other welfare provisions of employees . The likes of the Korean Han Jin is a model employer in terms of investing in skills training and offering employees’ long-term job contract. However, there were other areas that the likes of Han Jin could have equally attended to such as designing a skills and performance based compensation package and adherence to workplace standards to effectively retain its en-skilled and duly certified workforce. (b) Relocation packages covering board and lodging are offered only to expatriates and to non-local non-expatriates holding managerial posts. The Freeport and the City offers superior facilities and access to services. It is very costly to stay within the Freeport and less costly in the city but the latter’s rates are still considered expensive for a company to cover. This is one area a company must seriously look into as part of its employee retention program for managerial and non-managerial non-locals. Living in high end residential areas such as Binictican. Kalayaan, Cubi and Kolets will cost an SBMA managerial employee PHP 5000 (discounted) or over US$ 100 a month while a nonSBMA i.e. a locator’s employee can be at a rate of PHP5000-7000 a day which is considered real expensive. Other companies therefore just maintain a staff house outside of the Freeport area as alternative. Another alternative is for a company to lease an area at SBFZ for 25 years at US$30,000 for the entire period.
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Summing up Labour Supply Scarcity and Surpluses Scenarios: Implications for Target Priority Sectors for Redeveloping SBFZ There has been a great deal of ambiguity in the labor market situation in the country in general and in Region III in particular which provides the context and the influencing factors for the dynamism of the ‘labor market mismatch’ situation with which SBFZ locators and non-locators alike claim to have been experiencing and which regional labour market stakeholders found the need to put their act together arising from resolurtionn regional forum to follow-through actions local ground levels. As key officials of the SBMA Labor Department, the PESO-Olongapo City and the educational and training institutions described: on the one hand, there is not enough number of qualified graduates to fill-in particular jobs critical to the business mission of locators; on the other hand, there is a lack of effective demand for those who constitute the working age population who were and are available for work i.e., willing to take up paid or self employment; had taken specific steps to look for a job or establish a business but unable to land a job. (ILO, NSO and DOLE) Indeed there a situation where a ‘scarcity amidst surpluses’ or ‘surpluses amidst scarcity’ may and can happen. How do we describe the situation then in the labour supply environment of SBFZ?
A.
Labour surpluses amidst scarcity situation for less skilled jobs
1.
Currently there is a labour supply surplus situation for SBFZ as far as filling-in the locators’ requirements for jobs that are of lower level and constituted of tasks less technical in nature and non-central to business operations. 1.1
Data at hand on labour supply for SBFZ and the observations shared by key respondents (from SBMA Labor Department, PESO-Olongapo City, TESDAZambales and a select education and training institutions) provided a scenario where the SBZF locators are assured of a regular and adequate source of labour for their respective workforce requirements as far as lower level, less technical and noncentral to business jobs are concerned.
1.2
Labour supply for SBFZ locators are primarily targeted and so largely come from Olongapo City, Zambales and Bataan provinces; secondarily from Angeles City and other towns in all other provinces within Central Luzon region; thirdly from cities, towns and provinces outside of the region including the NCR, CAR , Region II and others.
1.3
The labour market information and recruitment facility for locators activated through the SBMA Labor Department focal unit Manpower Services Division is in place to search, pre-screen and connect potential hires to the SBFZ locators. It relies on LGUs, PESOs, schools, radio networks, etc in informing and connecting job seekers to the locators.
1.4
The said labor market partners and co-operators respectively have well-functioning institutional mechanisms in place within their areas of effective reach and influence to channel and disseminate information on SBFZ job vacancies; and where partner mobilizers have the capacities and resources, organize confidence building activities and provide necessary mobilization support to enable the applicants to go through the job application process and successfully land jobs in the shortest possible time.
61 1.5
2.
Note that the localities where current and potential hires were sourced are marked with comparatively high rates of population growth, functional literacy, tertiary school enrolment and tertiary school completion; the same however are marked with low rates of employment, with Region III and NCR among the regions with high unemployment rates in the country - all of which can shed light to this ‘labour supply surplus situation’ in SBFZ.
Further, the labour supply surplus situation can be expected to remain as it is in filling in SBFZ locators’ current and future workforce requirements for jobs of lower level, less technical and non-central to business operations. Considering the following conditions exist or continue 2.1
Central Luzon (Region III) is one of three most populous region and projected to be in the years to come the second largest populated region next to CALABARZON. The proportion of household population 10 years old and over in Central Luzon who were able to read and write a simple message was 94.80 percent.
2.2
It is the one of the three largest contributors of secondary and tertiary school undergraduates and graduates in the country and these graduates are willing to accept any entry-level positions for a start-up job
2.3
The region has a large size of available unskilled, seasonal, underemployed and unemployed workforce in need of job and can potentially fill-in the demand of locators given prior skills training and job search facilitation support
2.4
Olongapo City and Bataan had the highest proportion of literates and the proportion for employable workforce for SBFZ
2.5
Enhancing the bases of the literate workforce to be more functionally literate with private and government investments in secondary and tertiary schools and extension of scholarship programs for the indigents and offering of more short-term, modular and ladderized skills training programs for industry employability.
2.6
The SBMA Labour Services Department, the PESO Olongapo City and TESDA continue to be community and industry sensitive and responsive
Considering the foregoing are complemented with and/or can further be enhanced by 2.7
On-going secondary education curriculum refinement process (on 2nd year of four years) with the year-by-year piloting and mainstreaming of the Career Pathways Program which by design and methodology tools students with work-relevant values, certifiable trade skills, entrepreneurial mindset and life skills making them employable meanwhile that they cannot out-rightly pursue tertiary schooling.
2.8
On-going national and provincial government support for the TESDA training center for community and industry responsive skills programs
2.9
On going regional dialogue amongst demand and supply labour market stakeholders through the so-called “Labour Mismatch Congress” that has continually fostered cooperation and addressed labour market Follow-up meetings in between biennium are being conducted. A follow-up of this to transpire of this dialogue is Yset some time in August 2008
2.10 On-going city government budget support for the Gordon College and other public tertiary institutions which for the last nine years to 2008 awarded numerous
62 scholarships to young people that has reduced high school and tertiary school dropout incidences and effectively supported the completion of their high school, vocational and baccalaureate courses. 2.11 On-going effort of private schools to upgrade their school offerings that would ideally produce graduates who are employable to fill in critical and non-critical requirements of industry. 2.12 More companies opening up their facilities to OJT arrangements with schools and accepting students for engineering, accountancy, hotel and restaurant management and business management and computer studies/ICT graduating students, it enhances the employability of new graduates as they get to acquire relevant exposure and experience that which locators and non-locators normally require of job applicants. 2.13 Local and region’s graduates structurally forced to apply for any entry level jobs. The city and SBFZ have jobs to offer as a start. Graduates of management, liberal arts and course offerings oriented for overseas work “forced” to accept a “low-skill job” not of their line and preference for the sake of getting a job, an income and needed work experience. 2.14 If LGUs can invest like what the Tarlac provincial government did in investing on skills for the unskilled to make them employable in existing job growth sectors
B.
Labour scarcity amidst surpluses situation for jobs requiring specialized-skills
3.
There is, however, a labour supply scarcity situation in filling in the locators’ requirements for jobs with specialized disciplines, with tasks more technical in nature and central to business operations 3.1
As repeatedly articulated by the labour market demand and supply side stakeholders operating within and outside of SBFZ have commonly met difficulties in filling in jobs critical to the business mission of the locators. These are jobs that would essentially require a prospective employee to be
3.2
Baccalaureate degree holders of - Industrial Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Electronics Engineering - Information and communication technology Experienced and licensed engineering and accounting practitioners for higher order responsibilities
Although the CHED during a Regional Labour Market Forum made a pronouncement encouraging colleges and universities to actively design and market courses in the identified fields of studies to effectively attract, increase and retain enrolment rates in the same and although steps have been respectively taken by the respective educational and training institutions not much has been achieved yet. It has yet to produce substantial number of graduates. A need for more aggressive jobs information campaign at the barangay level is called for, not just with students or schooling youth a target audience but foremost the parents who practically decide the college courses of their children,
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4.
3.3
Students who have enrolled in newly created tertiary or vocational courses are still in their first or second year of school and so are not immediately available or utilizable by SBFZ locators and non-locators of SBFZ.
3.4
Meanwhile the few graduates the private tertiary schools like the Columban, Lyceum, Aura, AMA and public tertiary schools like Gordon openly declare and showed records that at the most they can produce on the average 3-5 engineering graduates for every kind of sub-discipline; around 10 for ECE and graduates. SBFZ companies were quick to find these students and go direct to the schools to ask each time for the list of their graduates; even engaging them.
3.5
Locally, more progress has been achieved in preparing local graduates for the ICT sector as the skills requirements for getting employed in the sector are not contained in a particular program. Almost all schools upgraded their existing ICT related courses under the Computer Studies and creatively mainstreamed IT/BPO related skills-based subjects across major discipline groups in such a way that it can produce graduates generally confident, interactive and employable and particularly readily available for ICT/BPO sector.
3.6
At the same time, stand alone ICT related short-term courses are offered also in local schools which can make a zero experience job seeker employable for SBFZ and other local establishments; also a currently SBZF-based employee acquire new skills that may trigger new opportunities in or out of his/her current workplace.
3.7
The SBMA Labor Services Department meanwhile had to practically rely on and so largely invest in networking with different labor supply and facilitation institutions outside of the city and the province. It links up with schools such as Saint Louis University and other universities in Baguio, Mapua Institute of Technology, FEATI and Guzman Technology in Metro Manila, Angeles City University. It also links up with schools with a national or cross regional presence such Bataan Polytechnic with campuses also in Cebu and Bicol in the Visayas region..
3.8
It also links with the different LGU/PESO offices in the region such as that of Tarlac which mobilized, trained and certified to as much as 200 welders for the Han Jin shipbuilding workforce requirements with the provincial government support including the construction of a training center with the kind of equipment/ technology required in the Han Jin operation.
3.9
The capacities for local labor market support institutions to network are there to incrementally match the numerical, functional and specialized workforce requirements of SBFZ locators.
There will remain a labour supply scarcity situation considering the current plus the target priority sector project demand for talents who are skilled, experienced and certified in one or a mix of sub-disciplines under engineering, technologies, communications and management fields, UNLESS measures are in place to upgrade the labour market support infrastructures for SBFZ particularly focused on 4.1
Enhanced labour sourcing infrastructure for SBFZ capable of tracking and tapping status of local graduates, practitioners and professionals and covering a wider base of graduates and professionals from Region III, NCR, Region VI, Region VII and Region XI the regions being engineering, technology and IT graduates-rich, local demand for technical specialist remains low and local PESO facilities are active and LGU supported.
64 4.2
Instituting a quality of work and life benchmarking, standardization and enrichment support infrastructure for SBFZ capable of attracting and retaining local and non-local graduates and talents through activation of programs, services and arrangements enabling locators to design and implement attractive and competitive basic compensation packages, performance incentives, training, career and organizational development programs and cross-cultural/regional/national integration and management programs for local and non-local talents
4.3
Activation of strategy plan for outsourcing foreign-based talents (foreign or Filipino nationals) at the initial stages of redevelopment plan with a component strategy capable of building the capacities of local supply institutions to design, market and deliver industry-linked tertiary and post-tertiary programs to produce talents of industry-linked educators, trainers and practitioners particularly in business critical fields of disciplines and skills areas.
C.
The need to prepare ‘demand’ and ‘supply’ - side labour market institutions for higher level HRD investments: with focus on employability
5.
Employability of the available workforce is a defining factor in the mismatches occurring in the labor market. 5.1
It is not only the case of locators in the Subic Bay Free Zone that one hears corporations, big or small, complain about difficulties to get the services of workers whose skills and competencies ‘fit’ the jobs. In this case, it raises employability as an issue of those in the labour force who are available for and willing to work but cannot work for lack of qualification. Employability refers to the general readiness of workers, the new entrants and reentrants into the labor market in particular, to participate in a dynamic labor market. This means having a work force with the right education, skills, know-how, attitudes and capacity to learn new trades or competencies needed by the new or emerging industries as well as by the existing but expanding industries. These skills, capacities and competencies are what enable workers to secure and retain a job, progress at work, secure another job and/or shift to another form of employment if she/he so wishes or when he/she has been laid off – with the least of inconveniences for any party concerned.
5.2
As firms especially in targeted sectors for SBFZ redevelopment are contemplated to gear up for higher level performance that adopt technologies that can create new, enhanced and competitive values for its own and its allied businesses survival and growth, clearly there is a need for locators/firms themselves to invest and pursue on higher level HRD interventions to effectively address the numerical and functional mismatches in the labour market.
5.3
A key to this is investing in the employability of current and future workforce of SBFZ particularly the schooling and working age population of source localities on the basis of volume and trainability. This requires consequently effective SBMA facilitation and coordination of
Industry (of individual and organized locators) links and partnering program with source localities (provincial and town level LGUs in and out of the region through its planning, PESO, and skills training offices) and
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. 6..
Industry/sector organized investment programs for local education and training institutions (industry-responsive curriculum development, teacher pooling and continuing training program, instructional facilities and tools financing, student scholarships for critical skills areas), etc Industry/sector links with national and international resource organizations for sector restructuring and development programs
Employability must then be the central concern of the both the individual business and the organized business 6.1
Strengthening the role of the individual and organized business sector: Skills development for employability is not just the concern of the schools and the local and the national governments. It must be a central concern of the individual business (as it directly utilizes unskilled/skilled labour to its competitive ends) and the organized business (as it is positioned to define and address issues of common and interrelated effect to firms of the same genre) for time and again, it is pointed out that the best education and training system is one that is industry-led or industryfocused, meaning business and industry give ‘signals’ on what the courses that are in demand, the education technology that is needed, etc.
6.2
Clearly, what the organized business community can do is help strengthen education-industry cooperation program, in particular in formally instituting industry representation in school and college boards in order to provide education planners with ‘market signals’ coming from industry. Industry should help educational and skills development institutions in anticipating changes in technology and work processes because these all require new skills.
6.3
Selling the benefits of industry-school OJT arrangements: Certain individual businesses have opened their doors to students for OJT on direct arrangements with schools. What the organized business community (perhaps through the SBF Chamber) can do is to entice more of its members to open their doors to more students for OJT. The Chamber would be in a better position to directly sell the benefit of such practice among its members through organized learning events).
6.4
Selling the benefits of industry-community apprenticeship or learnership arrangements: The Chamber can also do the same for apprenticeship and learnership for out-of-school youth and less skilled persons (as what labor-intensive firms like the wiring harness giant Yazaki Torres did in Region IV as it systematically partnered with different barangays for such arrangements and continually benefited from it as a higher form of labour sourcing strategy.)
6.5
Selling the benefits of dual-tech training which worked to the advantage of the companies, the schools and the students providing a student classroom based and workplace based trainings. This is best for schools that cannot afford to put up their own machine or industrial shops for instance for practice instruction that could approximate the technology levels in firm. (For sometimes, the problem of dual-tech training institutions is the shortage of cooperating firms. In the case of SBFZ locators claim according to SBMA Labor Department that there is no person in the firm to particularly have the time or the willingness to supervise a trainee in dual training arrangement.
6.6
Ensuring ethical traineeship and employment arrangements: This must be but under ethical arrangements; for more trainees and apprentices because the best classroom for many is the workplace The ethical issue raised here is an important concern in traineeship and apprenticeship as these have been misused or availed of
66 by firms not to develop skills but to avoid meeting obligation to workers such as paying the minimum wage. 6.7
The organized business should also help TESDA and other skills certification bodies in skills inventory in particular time and across sectors, standard setting and the likes. It must also tie-up with schools in mobilizing support for putting up capital intensive learning facilities. The organized business groups should provide also help in this area. This has worked in other regions particularly in Region IV initiated by large firms working with particular colleges and technical vocations institutions along the mentioned
6.8
The organized business community is in a position to minimize the free-rider abuses committed by pirating poachers and employers who do not invest on the training of their own employees. Without binding rules against poaching and employee violations of training contracts, industries active in training and skills development will not be encouraged to go into higher level of HRD investments, which is crucial in meeting the higher productivity and industrialization targets of the country.
6.9
Organized business can come up with a Code of Ethics on training and poaching, a system of monitoring compliance with the Code, fines (not necessarily penal in character) against errant or deviant industry players, etc. Likewise, organized business should work closely with the government on how to tighten the rules against workers who disregard their training contracts in favour of immediate overseas deployment.
6.10 To recap, there are a number of doables, as summarized above, which the organized business community can do. However, there is still no substitute in bringing and subjecting these doables to a deeper and broader process of dialogue on the appropriate skills development and employability agenda which can be another initiative patterned after the labour market mismatch congress organized by the Region III stakeholders. .
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References Interviews Atty. Severo Pastor, Manager, SBMA Labor Department, June 25, 200 Daisy Princesa, Division Chief, Workforce Development, SBMA Labor Department June 25, 2008 Rommel Aquino, Division Chief, Manpower Services Division, SBMA Labor Services Department, July 2, 2008 Evelyn de los Santos, Manager, Public Employment Services Office, City Government of Olongapo, July 2, 2008 Antonio C. Santos, Provincial Officer In-Charge, Supervising TESD Specialist, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority-Zambales, July 1 Grace Yuson, Head, Technical Courses Faculty, Freeport Institute for Research Science and Technology Anatalia Sy, Director, Alumni and External Affairs Office Columban College Norbeto Casabal. Head, Academic Affairs Office, Lyceum – SBF Campus Raul T. Del Rosario, School Director, AMA Computer University, Olongapo Campus Linda Pame, President, Gordon College Edgar G. Geniza, Ph.D., College President, Mondriaan Aura College Susan Bersamina, College Counselor and Registrar Holy Infant Jesus College
Documents Aldaba, Fernando, Sescon Jose, 2007, Makati City: Towards a Policy and Action Agenda on Youth Employment Amante, Maragtas, Ofreneo Rene, Ortiz, Ina, 1999, Philippines: Skills Training and Policy Reforms, Makati City: ILO Southeast-Asia and the Pacific Multidisciplinary Team. Canlas, M.E. and Rubio-Pardalis, M., 2006a, “Youth Employment in the Philippines, paper prepared for ILO. Commission on Higher Education: Higher Education Statistical Bulletin: Academic Year 2003-2004 National Statistics Office, various files, http://www.census.gov.ph Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Labor Department, relevant date files Technical Education and Skills Development Authority –Zambales, various files
