Category: Human Resource

The Corona Virus pandemic never ceases to amaze us- aside from disrupting the economies of the world and changing people’s lives forever, it also made significant positive impact to some aspects of society including the skills we need, how businesses operate as well as the future of work.

To cope up with these trying times, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) came up with a three-month webinar series with an aptly titled theme: “21st Century Employers: Digital, Agile and Resilient”. Topics like automation, digital technology and their roles in the transformation of work brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution were discussed. Just as important are the new skills and talent needed to cope up with the new workplace environment were also discussed. 

The 9^th National Education Forum (NEF) was held last 29 August 2019 at Hotel Jen, Pasay City. Attended by distinguished speakers and panelists from the government, academe, and industry, the forum discussed the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in business, work and our daily lives as well as offer solutions and insights on how to go about meeting the challenges imposed by this technological transformation.

The speakers and panelists alike discussed the pros and cons of the 4IR. Ms. Riza Mantaring of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) discussed the wonders of the hologram technology- an image that appears to be three dimensional and can be seen with a naked eye. As an advanced technology, holograms can also perform operations and surgeries outside operating rooms in any country.

Dr. Eduardo Ong of PCCI discussed the creation of a global village through social media revolution embodied by Facebook, Twitter and others that has given everyone a voice and a way to communicate instantly across the world. Such innovations can bring access to products and services to entirely new markets and can give people more opportunities to learn and earn in new ways.

Other speakers showed that digital technology can free workers from automation tasks, freeing them to concentrate on addressing more complex business issues and giving them more autonomy. It can also provide workers with new tools and insights to design more creative solutions to previously insurmountable problems.

Of the negative effects of such industrial transformation, the speakers and panelists agreed that being always connected can turn into a liability, with no respite from the continuous overload of data and connections. Dr. Marvin Adolfo of PMAP pointed out, “human beings will become lazy and live a distanced life through screens, while ignoring the world in front of them. Relations will lose value as most of us now have become busy on our social media life and there is now the prevalence of fake news, voice and facial reorganization, etc, which are regarded as ethical concerns. Further, there are risks of machines overpowering humans as portrayed in movies such as Terminator and I Robot.”

However, there are ways forward in dealing with the negative effects of the 4IR. Our government should take steps to ensure that we are able to capitalize on the 4IR rather than the receiving end of it. Hence, collaborative effort like the government-academe-industry linkages is very critical. First and foremost, we need to improve the quality of education and training in order to create more skilled persons which automatically reduce the risk of losing jobs. Government also needs to focus on increasing markets from priority sectors in order to increase the country’s economy.

Thus, the forum concludes that as a country, we need to shape a future that works for all of us by putting people first and empowering them. In its most pessimistic, dehumanized form, the 4IR may have the potential to “robotize” humanity and thus deprive us of our heart and soul. But we, as human beings can complement it through the best parts of human nature- that is- creativity, empathy and stewardship or teaching or coaching- which separates us from the “robotic stance” and uplift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of values and destiny. It is incumbent for us as humans to make sure the latter prevails.- GTM

Education and training will play a very critical role in the country’s technological transformation, this according to speakers and panelist during the 9th National Education Forum held at Hotel Jen last 29 August 2019.

PHILEXPORT President, Mr. Ortiz-Luis, emphasized the importance of “government officials, educational institutions, business leaders, and policymakers in pushing forward advocacies on education such as 4.0 workforce readiness, strengthening government-academe-industry linkages as well as best practices on multi-skilling workforce and plotting the ways forward in future-proofing work in the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Eduardo Ong, PCCI Chairman for Education, stressed that “the government, specifically those in the education and training sectors, shall continuously push for an enabling education environment that propels industrial revolution and economic resiliency.” It is the responsibility of the government to make sure that the value of partnerships and collaborations shall be undertaken at all levels, in all sectors, with emphasis to fulfill the mission of uplifting the quality of education in the country”.

Moreover, Dr. Ong said “Örganizations like the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the Export Development Council (EDC), PHILEXPORT and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) are all working on policies towards identifying the breadth of jobs that are likely to be threatened by this technological advancement. Noting for example is the rapid progress in Artificial Intelligence (AI), which indicates a much broader range of jobs than previously thought could be carried out by machines. Therefore, the Commission on Higher Education and other government agencies shall make sure that essential policies shall bring up symmetrical balance so that we will not be worried about automation affecting employment in the country.”

It was also highlighted that as one country, we should believe in the reality that jobs of the future will be the ones that machines can’t do and it is fair to say that anything that can be measured or is based on rules will be automated- an idea which means, we can automate the work and humanize the job. This also means that technology cannot always do the work alone- most of the time, it still needs human intervention.

Hence, it is beyond doubt that education is at the heart of preparing our future and present generations to thrive in a technologically advanced world. As a result, it is vital that we have an educational institution that develops human potential rather than pits it against machines; an education system designed for an industrial economy that is now being automated requires transformation; and from a system based on facts and procedures to one that actively applies that knowledge to collaborative problem-solving.

The said forum was organized by the PCCI Education Committee in collaboration with the EDC-Networking Committee on HRD and supported by PHILEXPORT.- GTM

“Since the inception of the industry-government-academe linkage, there is now greater participation and partnerships between companies and universities in the implementation of this reform at ground level.”  This was reported by Mr. Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation (PHILEXPORT) and Vice-Chair of the Export Development Council (EDC), during the  recently concluded 8^th National Education Forum.

The industry leader cited both the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and the Electronics industries as models for industry-government-academe partnership. They have been adopting and implementing the said reform in order for them to address their jobs-skills mismatch and make their respective industries become more globally competitive.

To date, The BPO employs 1.3 million people last year and is expected to grow up to 1.7 billion within the year, while the electronics industry employs 3.2. million direct and indirect workers.  In addition, both industries have established work immersion and internship programs as well as various industry-based programs that promote employment.

Ortiz-Luis, Jr, later explained that responding to the global realities and domestic demands would require a balance between what is being demanded by the labor market and what is being supplied by the education and training sector. He added that there is need to respond to the challenges posed by globalization, trade liberalization, information and technological advancement, international cooperation and agreements.

He continued that “globalization, includes among others, freer and borderless movement of capital goods, services, technology, information and human resource development between and among countries. Thus, the rapid change in information and communication technology directly impacts on the way work is being organized and executed, how products are being manufactured and shipped, and how systems and processes are implemented”.

“The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall implement Philippine labor policies to all businesses including MSMEs”, said Assistant Secretary Alex Avila at the 2nd Quarter General Membership Meeting of the PHILEXPORT. He informed that the agency is now looking into a “soft approach” to the “endo” by conducting constructive engagement with social partners on the voluntary regularization plan of companies. More importantly, DOLE will look into the developmental approach to existing labor inspection policy in the country. He assured that companies need not worry during inspections as the DOLE is willing to teach them the proper way to comply with the labor policies.

DOLE’s “soft approach” to the “endo” regime can be seen on how the agency had dealt with Jolibee. DOLE considered that the thousands of employees in Jolibee were actually lawful contractual workers and ordered their regularization. Jolibee has opted to the voluntary regularization plan.

DOLE Department Order Nos. 174 and 183, s. 2017 prohibit labor-only contracting, regulate lawful contractual arrangements, and include workers in the inspection of compliance with labor standards and laws. This move will ensure that there will be no “555” which refers to the practice of firing contractual employees after five months. It will also eliminate the practice of “cabo” or persons/entities that, under the guise of labor organization, cooperative or any entity, supply workers to employers and contracting out of job or work through an in-house agency, etc. As such, this will put an end to all illegal forms of contractualization and other forms of illegal labor practices.

On the other hand, employers expect an increase in the cost of labor amid the government’s move to regularize more workers. Thus, absorbing and regularizing the employees would come at a cost to enterprises. However, it will be offset by better productivity by the workers. – Grace T. Mirasol

The first regional education caravan to roll out the Strengthening of Industry-Government-Academe Linkage For Inclusive Growth (SIGASIG), was recently conducted in Iloilo City covering Regions 6,7 and 8.

SIGASIG caravan aims to sustain the linkage between the academe and the industries all over the country to better equip graduates with skills required by the industry. Skills matching and talent upgrading strategies to fill the gaps were discussed.  In collaboration with government and industry; curriculum should be upgraded and faculty immersion shall be pursued in industry.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Export Development Council and the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce conducted this caravan with the Iloilo Chamber of Commerce and the PHINMA University of Iloilo, as a concrete support to the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 which targets an improved global competitiveness and inclusive growth through better quality education.- Grace T. Mirasol

Strengthening Industry – Government-Academe Linkage towards Sustainable and Innovative Growth (SIGASIG) was this year’s theme for the 7th National Education Forum. TESDA Director General Guiling Mamondiong said that it was high time for the industry, government and academe to collaborate and work together as growth and economic accelerators in the country. He noted that by working together and in harmony, the country will be able to achieve global competitiveness. He said that TESDA will endeavour on Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for global competitiveness. He added that his agency is closely collaborating with the various industries to develop and promulgate skills they required.

On the other hand, Asst. Secretary Amuerfina Reyes informed that human capital development is integral to economic growth and development and that human capital accumulation through education and training promotes economic growth by enhancing labor productivity and by fostering technological innovation and adaptation.

This was confirmed by Mr. Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr., when he said “we are in an age where sustained competitiveness in the global economy will depend on the technological or innovation-based strengths, including the development of new products, applying new technology, incorporating best practices in the management of enterprises and developing skill levels across the full spectrum of the labor force, the academe has become a critical “stakeholder” to business bringing with it valuable resources to the table.”

The forum was organized in collaboration with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Education Committee and the Export Development Council-Networking Committee on Human Resource Development (EDC-NCHRD).-Grace T. Mirasol

Strengthening Industry – Government-Academe Linkage towards Sustainable and Innovative Growth (SIGASIG) is this year’s theme for the 7th National Education Forum slated on August 31, 2017, from 8:00 AM to 5 PM.

The main objective of the forum is to strengthen collaboration between and among industry-academe and government to attain employment generation, labor efficiency, global competitiveness and sustainable and innovative economic growth. It is also intended to strengthen complementation and productive partnership between the business sectors, academe and government for a well-established and sustainable industry-government-academe linkage (IGAL); promote IGAL collaboration and partnership as a model of public policy; document and monitor IGAL activities as well as lessons learned and best practices; generate, adapt and disseminate knowledge and information of the benefits of a well- established IGAL, and foster a healthy and vibrant relationship with industry, universities as well as the government in changing the economic landscape of the country through education reforms.

The said event will be attended by the academe, government, industry people and practitioners and collaborators of Industry-Government-Academe Linkages.

EDC encourages interested parties to attend. Venue is at at the 3/F, BA Securities hall, Commerce and Industry Bldg., No. 1030 Campus Avenue, cor. Park Avenue, McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

For more information contact Ms. Grace Morella at telephone number 846-8196 local 107.- Grace T. Mirasol