MANILA, Philippines – Senators on Wednesday, April 12, urged the government to address the apparent lack of job readiness among students about to enter the workforce as revealed in a Commission on Human Rights (CHR) report .

The CHR report showed that fresh graduates were having a hard time looking for jobs because of a lack of “soft skills” or those relating to creativity, communication, and empathy.

The report underscored the challenges faced by “pandemic generation” or the students who underwent remote learning due to the pandemic. It also highlighted that new graduates seemed to experience a “culture shock” upon entering the workplace because they had different learning experiences with those who graduated before the pandemic.

“The government together with the private sector must put serious effort to address the seeming lack of job readiness of graduates which could impede their employment. Both soft skills and technical expertise are keys to landing in quality jobs amid the tight market race,” Senator Grace Poe said in a statement.

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros urged education officials to act faster in addressing the issue, saying that the problem has been there even before the pandemic but no concrete solution has been made so far.

“This has been a long time problem of the education sector. Policies have already been studied and implemented. The question is,  to what extent do the education authorities execute these recommendations?” asked Hontiveros.

“Time is of the essence in implementing education reforms. The last thing we need is an employment crisis on top of an education crisis. Especially because our graduates are being thrust into a post-pandemic world of historical inflation with which many families are struggling. The government must support them in their hunt for sufficient livelihood,” she added.

Senator Sonny Angara echoed the same sentiment, saying that the “lack of soft skills was already a problem of graduates before the pandemic.”

“It’s one of the concerns our educational system needs to address going forward, alongside poor reading comprehension, among others. Parents must also do their part as much as possible, though this is difficult with OFW parents and other realities on the ground,” Angara said.

K to 12 review

Meanwhile, Poe said that K to 12 program needs an “honest-to-goodness review to determine the enhancements needed to make it more responsive and relevant to the needs of our students.”

“We hope concerned government agencies in charge of the review will make this a priority, which can also be useful to the joint congressional oversight committee on the K to 12 program in its own assessment,” Poe said.

“We owe it to our learners to deliver on the promise of quality education and sustainable jobs,” she added.

Even before K to 12 was launched in 2012, many were already clamoring against the additional two years of basic education. Despite a classroom shortage, lack of textbooks, tables and chairs, the ambitious program was implemented. Policy makers and proponents of K to 12 marketed it to the public as a curriculum preparing “graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.” (READ: INFOGRAPHIC: 10 things about K to 12)

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte vowed that under her administration, the ambitious K to 12 curriculum will be revised, as her Basic Education Report for 2023 showed that important lessons are missing in the current one.

In 2022, a World Bank report showed that 9 in 10 Filipino students aged 10 are struggling to read and understand a simple text, which is a manifestation of “learning poverty.” – Rappler.com