The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has partnered with nine government agencies, various industries and the education sector to address the gaps in the workforce as well as to accelerate digital transformation under the administration's new industrial policy.

DTI Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba of the Competitiveness and Innovation Group emphasized “the need for reskilling and upskilling the workforce, investing more in human resource development because this is really the only way by which the Philippines would be able to leapfrog.”

She also noted on Tuesday, Sept. 19, that what should complement workforce skills development is the appropriate digital transformation. The DTI has programs for the promotion of artificial intelligence along with the other Industry 4.0 technologies as well as the Philippines Skills Framework.

During the Advanced Manufacturing Stakeholder Forum 2023 on Tuesday, Aldaba shared the new industrial policy of the current administration which allows the nation to advance quickly toward inclusive and sustainable industrial development and guarantees that no one is left behind.

The Inclusive Innovation Industrial Strategy (i3S) is a new policy strategy developed by DTI to address global and domestic development challenges. This strategy integrates an Industry 4.0 policy, focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Based on the DTI's survey, over 70 percent of all the manufacturing sectors across the country are still utilizing low levels of technology while the large urban companies and exporters with direct investments are utilizing more advanced technologies. 

Aldaba said this have implications -- “because we don't want this digital transformation to worsen inequalities here in the country.”

"Well, in fact, it’s not only here in the country but it’s also present in other countries. But of course, we are aware that skills mismatch can really lead to a lot of inefficiencies in the labor market which could affect our economic growth,” she added.

Further, she explained that “if the workers for instance, or graduates are not able to practice what they’ve learned then they get stuck in low-paying jobs as well as in jobs which they were not trained for. And then you also end up with graduates who cannot find the right jobs because their courses are not really in demand.”

Aldaba said that while faculty immersion and apprenticeships are really necessary, the government has to go beyond such as in the current internship programs. 

“The interns are not really doing sufficient activities inside the companies that would really equip and allow them to learn more about the operations of a particular company where they are having their internships,” she said.

The DTI official said the government needs to ensure that the educational institutions are catching up through updating and revising the educational curricula as required, as well as for short-term and intermediate training that would enable the government to prepare the workforce for future industrial demands.

DTI is currently working together with nine other government agencies including the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and Department of Labor and Employment in the implementation of the Philippines’ Skills Framework, said Aldaba. 

The partnerships will address the skills mismatches and at the same time, prepare the workforce for the jobs of the future and ensure that the skills and competencies to be demanded by industries in the future would be sufficiently provided.

In the skills workforce that the government is developing with the private sector, Aldaba said they have identified the "different jobs and then for every job, we also identify what are the skills and competencies that are needed. And so far, we’ve already completed one for game development, another for animation, and also for supply chain and logistics."

Additionally, DTI will extend the Philippines Skills Framework by including a program called “Job Skill Accelerator,” in partnership with the Private Sector Advisory Council.

She also highlighted that the government plans to build the Industry 4.0 pilot factory which would serve as a training ground and platform to train workers, particularly from the micro, small and medium enterprises sector.

“As we adopt these new technologies, the purpose is not to replace or displace our workforce, but it’s really to augment the productivity of our workforce because that’s the only way by which we will be able to improve our competitiveness,” she said.

She also emphasized that adopting advanced manufacturing is not only for the nation to enhance processes, competitiveness, and sustainability, but also equips the government with necessary approaches to enable efficient energy utilization and raw material inputs, leading to reduced costs and improved competitiveness.

“At the same time, we are adopting these new technologies as a way for us to become more innovative (and) pursue more innovation that would enable us to create new products, new services, new business models,” Aldaba added. (Ma. Joselie C. Garcia)