Ayala school network eyes higher enrollment

MANILA, Philippines – APEC Schools, the low-cost high school chain of the Ayala and the Pearson Groups, is targeting to double its enrollees to 9,000 by July as it continues to expand.

In a press briefing yesterday, Ayala Corp. chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said the conglomerate would be opening new schools as well as adding senior high school in its APEC or Affordable Private School Education Center.

“As a group, Ayala feels strongly about helping pave the way for affordable and quality education for as many Filipino youth as possible. We believe the need to improve access to quality education is critical to our country’s continued national development both from an economic and social perspective,” Zobel de Ayala said.

The group expects an influx of Grade 11 students in the coming school year with the K-12 law in full swing nationwide effective school year 2016 to 2017.

The group is currently looking at new locations to meet the anticipated strong demand.

Alfredo Ayala, president of Ayala Education, said the number of APEC schools has grown from one site and 130 students in 2013 to 24 branches and 3,300 students at present.

“Our target is to grow to 27 sites and 9,000 enrollees by this July,” he said.

The three new branches are located in Las Pinas, E. Rodriguez Avenue in Quezon City and Concepcion Dos in Marikina.

Zobel de Ayala said with APEC Schools, the Ayala Group hopes to help bridge the skills mismatch gap.

He said that many industries such as those in high growth service sectors such as IT, BPO, tourism, retail and banking find it difficult to find qualified candidates because graduates do not have the necessary skills to be employable.

“DepEd’s K-12 program is an essential step to fixing the skills mismatch problem and helping our youth attain their full career potential as well as enabling the country to become more globally competitive. We are committed to DepEd’s Senior High School initiatives through APEC Schools,” he said.

Beth Lui, CEO of APEC Schools,  said their graduates have received a higher starting monthly salary of P16,000 to P17,000 compared to the regular P13,000 to P14,000.