MANILA -- Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones assured on Monday that the first batch of K to 12 program graduates are competent and ready to land jobs after graduation.
Briones said Senior High School (SHS) completers, especially those who took the technical-vocational (tech-voc) track, need not worry about lack of job opportunities should they decide to work after graduation as the business, manufacturing, and commercial sectors are keen to try their skills.
"We must understand that the economy is growing and the demands of the industries are also increasing so the tendency for them is to take in high school students who have undergone training," Briones said at a press conference.
Some sectors warned that the first batch of K to 12 graduates may not be qualified to work, saying they appear to lack 80 hours or two weeks -- a minimum requirement for the on-the-job training (OJT).
Briones explained that work immersion or OJT is part of the graduation requirements for all SHS students. Its aim is to provide them the skills they will need as they become part of the labor force.
Briones clarified that the training does not guarantee sure jobs after graduation but it would give the graduates better chances to be employed right away.
Apart from the training, public and private schools conduct job fairs towards the end of the school year in coordination with DepEd, Department of Labor and Employment, and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Through these job fairs, businessmen check on the SHS students’ abilities and they give us feedback on the kind of skills these learners need to have as employees," Briones said.
In the same press conference, DepEd Undersecretary Jess Mateo cited as example the close to 90 percent of the tech-voc students who have undergone the modeling program since 2013 and eventually get employed, while 10 percent pursued higher or further learning.
Mateo added that in an SHS exposition in Cebu, employers eyed K to 12 undergraduates who possessed the skills their industry needs.
“103 of those graduates of tech-voc were hired on the spot during that job fair, even before graduation,” Mateo said.
DepEd is about to send off 1,252,357 completers of the K to 12 program by April.
Around 61.13 percent or 765,588 of these soon-to-be graduates took the academic track and will pursue college, while 38.32 percent or 479,866 completed the technical-vocational studies and will most likely seek employment right away.
DepEd is preparing an assessment of the program which will be conducted after the first batch of SHS students' graduation.
Through the assessment, DepEd will determine the strengths and weakness of the graduates and the points for improvement which the department must address with the help of the schools.
“An assessment of the program after the K to 12 program to determine where the strengths and challenges are since we cannot expect perfection because our economy and industries keep on changing," Briones said.
She added that the department is also working “very closely” with the business sector to give feedback on their preferences for SHS graduates. (PNA)
