Phl urged to strengthen industry-academe ties

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines needs to strengthen industry and education linkages in developing a strong skills base crucial to economic growth and development.

Dr. Patricia Bustos-Lagunda, chairman of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea), said industry and the employer sector involvement is critical since it is in the best position to determine the requisite skills and competencies.

“Industry can and must work with academe in development of competency standards and in the design of curricula,” she said in an employers’ conference.

Lagunda said it is imperative to intensify the more active participation and involvement in enterprise-based training.

“Some skills are better learned in the workplace. This can take the form of apprenticeship, dual training, on-the-job training and other related schemes,” he said.

Lagunda said education and training thus should be given top priority in the allocation of government resources.

For one, the government, through the Department of Labor and Employment’s PhilJob Net and the Public Employment Service Offices, can provide timely and current labor market intelligence and functional labor market information system, she said.

“Because there is no such thing as a world of perfect information, continuous updating and periodic review of jobs and skills gaps or mismatch should be undertaken by the stakeholders. Timeliness of labor market information is critical for program decisions and private sector communications,” she said.