Former Vice President and senatorial aspirant Jejomar Binay proposed on Wednesday, March 9, the creation of a National Skills Education Council (NSEC) to address the still growing problem of unemployment in the country.

The NSEC aims to coordinate and assist in the development of course curricula to fit the needs of industries, as well as projecting job trends to address the jobs-skills mismatch.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the country’s unemployment rate was pegges at 6.6 percent in December 2021. This is equivalent to 3.27 million Filipinos without work.

Meanwhile, the country’s underemployment rate has reached 14.7 percent during the same period.

Binay explained that more Filipinos, even prior to the pandemic, have been actively looking for work, which he partly attributed to jobs-skills mismatches.

“Schools and training agencies should be aware of the specific skills and knowledge that employers and industries need. This can be done through skills training partnerships patterned after the programs of the University of Makati,” Binay said.

Binay explained that the NSEC will be composed of both the government and private sectors, and labor representatives.

The council will also coordinate and advise schools of the necessary skills needed by employers and industries.

Binay added that the proposed council will include the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

“Advising schools about upcoming job trends and equipping the students with the necessary skills should reduce jobs-skills mismatches, as well as reduce the number of those with part time work,” Binay said.