Another upskilling program for Philippine management personnel introduced by the Center for Research and Communication (CRC) in the late 1960s and early 1970s was the Industrial Economics Program (IEP). When Dr. Jess Estanislao, Founder of CRC, decided to leave the Program Implementation Agency (PIA) under the Office of the President (then President Diosdado Macapagal), he joined the private sector as a banker. He immediately realized that there was a scarcity of what we now call business economists or industrial economists. Even then, there was a proliferation of courses purporting to train economists in some private colleges and universities, including the University of the Philippines. To his disappointment, however, there was a mismatch between the products of these economic programs and what the real world of business was demanding.

At that time, with the import substitution approach to industrialization that the Philippine Government was encouraging, there was a lot of interest among potential investors in the economics of industries, e.g., the economics of steel, pharmaceutical, energy, food manufacturing, paper and pulp, cement, chemicals, etc. Industrial economists were needed not only in the preparation of feasibility studies but in the actual operations of the enterprises that were getting into these new sectors. This required an optimum combination of expertise in macroeconomics (to know the impact of monetary, fiscal, trade, and industrial policies on individual firms) and in microeconomics (the economics of marketing, production, finance, and human resources). Even the best universities like the University of the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo, and De La Salle did not produce the professionals with the knowledge and skills to undertake industrial economic research. At best, these top universities graduated generalists who were steeped in economic theory but could not apply their theoretical knowledge to actual industry or business research. They needed a great deal of upskilling, not only in more advanced economic theories but also in the tools of econometrics, research and statistical methods, and, considering the responsibility of business to contribute to the problems of unemployment and poverty, social economics.

Jess decided to gather a group of us in allied fields of economics, statistics, philosophy, and communications to develop a program that would upskill, reskill, and retool college graduates from the top universities from all over the Philippines with the most diverse specializations, such as electrical engineers, metallurgical engineers, economics and business administration majors, philosophers, communications majors, etc. Whatever their college backgrounds, the first trainees in the Industrial Economics Program (IEP) had to develop expertise in economic theory, economic history, statistics and econometrics, research methods, social economics, and effective communication. For those who did not specialize in economics during their undergraduate years, we crafted a Summer Qualifying Program (SQP) that gave them a sufficient grounding in economic theory through subjects like Economics of a Nation, Economics of a Firm, Economics of an Industry, and Statistical Analysis.

Even before the German pedagogical approach called Dualvoc was introduced to the Philippines in the early 1980s, CRC had already decided to use the dual training method in the formation of “industrial economists” or “business economists.” After crafting the curriculum that would upskill the college graduates we recruited from the best universities, albeit with the most diverse specializations or “majors,” Jess contacted the business enterprises that were interested in employing industrial and business economists and proposed to them a work-study arrangement. The “graduate staff” we were upskilling or reskilling through the classes we gave them in the morning would already start applying what they were learning in their respective company sponsors in the afternoon. This combination of classroom instruction and on-the-job training was already, without our naming it such, a duale Ausbildung program as the Germans call it. As I mentioned, our IEP was started as early as 1969. Only in the early 1980s was the duale Ausbildung system formally introduced into the Philippine educational system with the appearance of what is now the very successful Dualtech School in Canlubang that has trained over the years more than 10,000 skilled workers in electro-mechanics. Dualtech was established with funding coming from a German foundation called Hanns Seidel. During the Presidency of Fidel V. Ramos, the Dual Training Law was passed, formally legalizing the work-study program, which today has evolved into the EBET (Enterprise Based Education and Training) Law.

Today, the Industrial Economics Program (IEP) is the oldest and most well-known masteral course in economics of the University of Asia and the Pacific. It is a five-year, fast-track master’s program for those with advanced quantitative skills and training. Those who are strong in mathematics are usually the ones who thrive in this specialization. Students who finish this course will have both a bachelor’s and master’s degree upon graduation, making it a great option for those who wish to pursue higher education immediately before joining the workforce. With a focus on the analysis of industries and business, it is the only economics program of its kind in the Philippines. Because it zeroes in on economic trends and strategic decision-making, it is the perfect training ground for future professionals interested in using mathematical concepts and tools within the corporate setting. Over the last 56 years, the IEP has turned out over 500 industrial or business economists, some of whom have risen to top management positions, and others have become well-known names in the field of economic and business forecasting, constantly quoted for their expert economic forecasts. Just to cite a very few examples, the names of Jun Neri, Jun Trinidad, Anton Periquet, Vaughn Montes, Omar Cruz, Tom Aquino, the late Rolly Dy, PJ Garcia, and Nick Mapa have been constantly heralded by the press as the leading and credible economic and business forecasters.

The original IEP has now come full circle and is being transformed by the School of Economics of UA&P into the “Graduate Staff Scholarship Program” (GSSP). The GSSP is an honors program for the outstanding participants in the Master of Science in Industrial Economics (MSIE) of UA&P. A key feature of the GSSP is to immerse the participating scholars in business organizations and assist partner institutions by providing them with highly trained young talents educated in quantitative and qualitative analysis in the allied fields of economics, business, communication skills, teamwork, and business ethics, supported by a strong liberal arts background. The School of Economics of UA&P, together with the host company, will design the internship project that will involve analyzing an issue to be determined by the host institution. The faculty of the School of Economics will then mentor the scholar in crafting strategies to address the issue at hand. The project will form the basis of the intern’s thesis for the Master of Science in Industrial Economics degree.

There will be no employer-employee relationship during the GSSP, but the host institution may opt to hire the GSSP interns after the on-the-job engagement. The GSSP will run for 15 weeks per semester (e.g., 2 days a week per semester—240 hours in August to December 2025 and 240 hours in January to May 2026). The host company will issue a tuition grant of P90,000 per semester or a total of P180,000 for the whole academic year. At the same time, the host company will provide a monthly stipend to GS from UA&P in keeping with its existing policy. For more information, contact (632) 8632-0912 to 26 local 367. To be continued.