Sen. Raffy Tulfo called out the presence of discrimination in hiring K to 12 senior high school graduates since most jobs in the country still prioritize college graduates.

"We promised them employability in a level above that of the usual high school graduate because the Senior High Program is supposed to provide them with skills and education that would meet the needs of the industry," Tulfo stated in his opening statement during the hearing of the Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education on Monday, Dec. 4.

Tulfo then proposed the integration of the enterprise-based training program into the senior high curriculum as soon as possible to make the senior high school graduates job-ready.

The senator mentioned senior high students must have an apprenticeship program that would count as experience for them to immediately enter the workforce after graduation.

"Sa classified ads na naghahanap ng employee, palaging, almost always must be college graduate. Dini-disregard na agad yung mga graduate ng senior high. Even parang clerk typist lang, receptionist lang, must be college graduate. This has to be changed. Na parang agad agad, discriminated agad itong mga graduates ng senior high (In the classified ads when they look for an employee, it's always almost must be college graduate. They are disregarding already senior high graduates. Even clerk typists, and receptionists, must be college graduates. This has to be changed. That already, senior high graduates are discriminated)," he said.

Tulfo also stated that companies hiring K to 12 graduates are predominantly from sectors such as construction, food and beverage services, BPO, and food processing.

He mentioned a study conducted by the Philippine Business for Education wherein they found out that only about 20 percent of 70 leading companies across all sectors in the country were inclined to hire Senior High Graduates.

"So bakit meron pa tayong (why is there still) K to 12? What is the reason why we still have this K to 12? Diba para after graduate nila sa senior high magkakaroon sila ng employment, makakatulong sa kanilang family (Supposedly, after you graduate from senior high you can be employed and help your family)," he said.

"Dito pala e pag nag-K to 12 ka, only 10 percent of you guys that will graduate this year will get a job," he added, citing data from the Department of Education (DepED).

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Carmela Torres disclosed that in December 2022, they conducted a job fair with over 9,000 vacancies wherein 116 were hired as cashiers, sales agents, and service crew.

“Ito yung mga areas na pwede silang ma-hire and those are some areas which we can enhance their competencies and skills kasi doon sila na-hire," she added.

Tulfo explained that the problem is that there is a disconnect between the educational curriculum, particularly in senior high, and the actual industry needs, which may be addressed through the enterprise-based training program.

Tulfo added that to further encourage the employment of senior high graduates and the implementation of this EBET program, they may provide more than just tax incentives.

"We could also provide recognition awards to participating enterprises, and incentives from Local Government Units (LGUs) for hiring local senior high graduates," he said.