The State of Tech-Voc in the Philippines

Looking at the state of Tech-voc in the Philippines, we believe that the Tech-voc Philippine style can open a lot of opportunities for Filipinos and perhaps even entice foreign students to enroll in the Philippines. 

We have worked closely with the graduates of the Tech-Voc from the K-12 program and we see both opportunities and gaps that we can address in order to make the Philippines the Tech-Voc Center in Asia. 

We see the potential of our Tech-Voc programs in the country as an effective way to address poverty. In our experience, we worked with a public school here in Bacolod where the students are mostly children of sugarcane farmers. These students have no means to go to college which means that being employed in an office-based setting is a remote idea. 

However, through the Contact Center Servicing course through the TVL track of the K-12 program, the students received the necessary skills and knowledge that allowed them to be gainfully employed in the BPO industry. 

Right after graduation, the students are able to start working immediately and start earning (above the minimum) and have helped their respective families financially. 

We have to realize that a four-year course is NOT the only avenue to attaining a decent lifestyle. The technical field is very, very wide, uncharted, and not yet competitive, which is a far cry from the competitive, dog-eat-dog corporate world.

Is the Tech-voc in the Philippines enough? 

The answer is NO. This is why we partnered and worked closely with them. There was a need to bridge the gap between school and for the students to get employed. There were many areas that we can improve in order to make the program become more effective. 

Here are some of the areas that we believe can be improved: 

• Framework Revision - Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, CEO of Ayala Corporation, one of the country’s top corporations and a staunch advocate for the importance of technical skills in our society, once expressed that a vocational or technical degree should be given a prominent position in our country’s educational framework. The curriculum should be wider and the accreditation status should be improved significantly so that it will produce young graduates with specific skills that match the market needs.

• Qualifications of Tech-Voc Instructors and Educators -  As experts in their field of interest, getting a methodology course does not automatically qualify them as trainers. Our partner school has been lucky to have a teacher who had an industry experience of 10 years to handle the classes but we have also seen many incompetent teachers have been tapped to handle the classes of other TVL track programs. 

We have to realize that we can't just have anyone handle the tech-voc trainings. We need people who have actual experience doing the job and who can really share and teach what's actually happening in real life. 

• Professionalization and Licensing - granting professional licenses to successful graduates would give them the recognition that would elevate their status from merely a tech-voc graduate into a professional practitioner of their chosen skill. Possessing a license gives graduates a sense of pride and achievement. Licensing should be the goal that each tech-voc graduate must aim for because acquiring a license would give them a right to demand a higher salary and compensation for their services.

• Reshaping Tech-Voc Curriculum vis-a-vis Current Market Demands - It is proposed that the tech-voc curriculum be two tracks: meaning the courses offered can either be service-oriented or product-oriented. 

Product-oriented tracks are designed in order to alleviate poverty and provide income-generating projects to barangay folks like stay-at-home moms, out-of-school youths, drug dependents, seniors/retirees, jobless folks, and surrenderees. Some of these product-oriented tracks are called cottage industries and can be done in the backyard or in a factory for SME. 

 

Please note though that it is crucial for the implementors to consider the market demand especially for these cottage industries. I have seen a lot of skilled weavers or handicraft makers but has no idea on how to sell or market their products. Thus, it doesn't make a difference in their lives.  

The training package for this track must include: Salesmanship/ Entrepreneurship, managerial, marketing and bookkeeping. These livelihood trainings are best for barangays and provincial training through Barangay Kasanayan para sa kabuhayan at kapayapaan (BKKK) set by TESDA. TESDA will also provide for the necessary tools and materials as well as equipment for this skill training. 

 

The Service Oriented Sector/Industry are the following: 

The above mentioned are all professional tracks and require a high school diploma as a basic requirement. Tech-voc service-oriented profession is not just a simple trade and all service-oriented tracks will be identified by specific specialization based on the industry qualification.

President Rodrigo expressed in one of his speeches that the Build, Build, Build program is delayed because of the lack of workers. We are lacking in experts in carpentry, welding, and other technical skills. We have a lot of jobless because they are not qualified even in vocational, especially construction.”

As of now, joblessness and lack of experts in vocational and technical skills is really a big concern,thus, it would be good if we have an institution such as TESDA who will take the lead and be responsible for this. 

Conclusion

If our TVETs follow global standards and are just competitive with that of our Asian neighbors, there will be fewer OFWs because TVET graduates can establish their own businesses and can get better-paying jobs locally.

TESDA should be independent of other government agencies in terms of providing technical-vocational training and education. However, other agencies can complement because agencies like DepEd, help in the basic education of children, while DOLE and DTI give assistance in the employment and livelihood programs respectively.

Good, high-paying jobs await qualified tech-voc grads. If only they’re given proper incentives, multisectoral support, and a supportive policy environment, the tech-voc track can also be a viable alternative for young Filipinos who wish to lead productive lives.

We may still have a long way toward strengthening our tech-voc ecosystem in the country, but with a little help and support from the government, industry, and academe, we are making crucial inroads that lay the foundation for the future. As we promote tech-voc to the youth to undergo tech-voc training, we hope that tech-voc professionalism and licensing will soon be implemented as well.

Hopefully, in the coming years and decades, the state of tech-voc education in the Philippines would further be improved so that when we ask Filipino children what they want to be when they grow up, we hope many of them will also answer that they would want to take the tech-voc path and become a carpenter, a forklift driver or a farming technician. And by then, these children would no longer be laughed at or looked down with the career choices they’ve made.

When developing tech leaders, a global perspective is key!

Over the last decade, technology has radically changed the way businesses all over the world look and operate. Accompanying this meteoric change among businesses is the need for different leadership traits.

According to Forbes, key traits that future leaders will need to possess include the ability to embrace technology and employ a global citizen mindset. This mindset includes celebrating diversity and understanding new cultures in order to gain knowledge on how to enter and succeed in new global markets. On the other hand, embracing technology will allow leaders to improve efficiency in the organization. 

Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, continues to instill these fundamental traits into young, tech-driven talent through the Global Leaders Program. 

This year marks its fourth iteration as it continues to mold tech leaders of tomorrow.

The Global Leaders Program is a 2-year graduate program consisting of four 6-month local and overseas rotations open to final-year students and young professionals with up to two years of working experience. 

This Is What Leadership Will Be In 2030 working experience. Participants can expect to receive mentorship from senior management, a rigorous training curriculum under the various Shopee departments, and the opportunity to work on highly impactful projects. And one of the key experiences of the Global Leaders Program is the opportunity to work in different Shopee markets across the region and gain pivotal exposure to the tech industry. Throughout the overseas rotation, Shopee will provide mobility support to GLP Associates to ensure hassle-free overseas accommodations and seamless visa applications.

Karen Perez, Head of People at Shopee Philippines, said “At Shopee, we understand how crucial developing a global perspective is in pushing the Philippine tech industry forward. Through the overseas rotations of the Global Leaders Program, we believe that we can help broaden the horizons of young Filipino talent. We are deeply committed to delivering more opportunities to hone the skills of young Filipino professionals and support the growth of our local digital economy.”

Jan, a GLP associate currently completing her second overseas rotation in Thailand under the Marketing Department, has shared what influenced her decision to apply. “The promise of diverse rotation and regional exposure at such a young age attracted me to the Global Leaders Program. I believe the program brings in many unique opportunities that would allow me to launch my career and create immediate impact.” she said.

For Lance, another GLP associate that is also currently assigned to Thailand, the opportunity to gain regional exposure abroad has provided him with a better understanding of our local situation. He shared, “Being able to live and work in the same company, but in a different country immediately provides me with a new ‘perspective’. This is quite useful because it helps me notice the differences between Thailand and the Philippines in terms of the needs of our buyers and sellers, organizational structure, and working style. These differences helped me strategize on how we can better tailor our solutions or ways of working to fit different local contexts.”

Koko, on the other hand, completed his overseas training in Singapore last August 2021. Being trained abroad gave him the opportunity to grow as both a professional and an individual. He said, “I was able to experience different work functions, roles, industries, and even markets in the short span of two years. I also had the opportunity to take on a lot of responsibility early on in my career, which helped me build confidence in my own knowledge and skills.”

Young Filipinos looking to challenge themselves and drive change in the tech industry are welcome to apply to Shopee’s Global Leaders Program here: https://careers.shopee.ph/GLP.

The application period has been extended until April 30, 2022.