A parent’s R.O.I.

As I scan the “help ads” or posts for job openings, it is very common to read companies requiring that applicants must be a college graduate or of a specific 4-year course. What usually works me up is when the job is merely to be a server, barista, or some other job the required skills for which could be acquired after a 6-month training or internship and not necessarily a college degree.

If you want me to emit lava type annoyance, show me ads that require young graduates but “with experience.” Even my 14-year old daughter Hannah throws a fit when she hears that because how are people suppose to gain experience in a country where even the TV stations and hospitals charge money to enroll graduating students in their internship programs and use them as goffers or virtual slaves?

According to the Department of Education, the K to 12 program will help solve part of the problem by giving students more practical skills that would help increase employability especially for those who can’t afford college. Maybe! But when the people working the “Personnel department” are not even analytic enough or empowered or competent to do correct job matching, K to 12 won’t make a difference. Until they can show their pro-active and enlightened skills, these people have no right to the title “Human Resource Department” because they don’t have the proper appreciation of Human Resource and skill sets. What we need is new legislation that deals with the mismatch or the “over requirement” imposed by employers and their undervalued-industry imposed salary scales. If they want college degrees, they must be willing to pay the value for such just like parents did.

The Department of Labor and Employment has reportedly made many advances to improve the state of Labor and Employment in the country. Perhaps it would merit the attention and action of DOLE officials to study the matter of correct job matching with skills, education and compensation and endorse whatever legislative action is required to Congress.

On the other hand members of the Senate and Congress should start asking employers this question: When you demand or require college degrees or experience, do you pay salaries that are commensurate to the cost and efforts for attaining a college degree or are you simply doing so because you are such lazy lumps that you don’t evaluate the job requirement relative to the required training or educational level? 

It is one thing to pay minimum wages to unskilled labor or individuals with no specific skill set but why are companies getting away with paying minimum or below minimum wages to young graduates with college degrees? For example, I have been told that my nephew who graduated from the University of the Philippines had been offered a starting job on the night shift at the Social Security System for something like P8,000. On the other hand, Walter our former houseboy who has moved on to becoming a security guard earns P10,000.

I suppose it would be safe to say that many Senators are too busy busting the Binay family to be bothered with real life concerns of parents and their children. It is a real life concern for parents that their children get an R.O.I or Return On Investment on their High School and College Diploma. It is a real concern for parents who sent their children to the best schools  that the kids get fairly compensated even on their first job.

It is an injustice and an insult to our society that places so much value on education and a good college degree from a good school to find their sons and daughters dumped under the same category as Minimum Wage earners because they should not be. The minimum wage law was meant to protect those with the least skills or no skills from being exploited. It was not suppose to be the entry-level price for all employees. Because of this situation and this law, private companies and even government agencies such as the SSS have used the Minimum Wage law to exploit fresh graduates and college degree holders.

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While we are in the subject of exploitation, Congress and the Senate should spend more time alongside the Department of Justice on the practice of OFWs having to pay placement fees. Yes, I love to rock the boat especially when people and sectors of society manage to draw blood money from OFWs while they collect “finders fees” or “placement fees” from partners or employers abroad. The employer needs the OFW, the OFW wants the job, but why should processing cost 50 to 150 thousand pesos when the OFW still ends up doing most of the leg work?

This practice is reminiscent of what elders refer to us “Lagareng Hapon” or the Japanese handsaw that cuts into wood whether you push in or pull back.  Many recruiters and placement agencies in the Philippines continue to charge and collect placement fees some of which could be declared illegal if the government simply “nationalized” or took over by setting up a national job placement center for OFWs. Foreign employers and recruiters can continue to engage OFWs but this time they have to deal directly with the Philippine government which in turn can result to many plus factors.

A national agency will put an end to illegal recruiters, they can wave the placement fees or rationalize them, being the state agency all documentation and legal requirements can be under one house, all OFWs will have automatic protection and benefits, and because it is the government of the Philippines standing as recruiter it has the diplomatic authority and network that will give OFWs better support abroad. Yes, it’s a crazy idea but its non-political except for the politicians who owns BIG placement agencies, and that is why no one is fixing the INJUSTICE.

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