Having a professional license improves the employment prospects of education graduates in the Philippines, but does not necessarily translate into higher wages unless paired with public-sector employment and jobs aligned with their training, according to state-run policy think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

In a discussion paper published last Tuesday, Aug. 25, PIDS researchers found that while licensure serves as an important signal of professional skills and competence, its labor market benefits are not guaranteed and largely depend on where graduates work.

The paper, titled “Labor Market Outcomes of Education Graduates in the Philippines: The Role of Licensure Credentials and Job Matching,” was authored by PIDS research specialist Anna Rita P. Vargas, research analyst Paola Ellaine D. Luzon, and senior research fellow Connie G. Bayudan-Dacuycuy.

Using data from the July 2024 round of the merged labor force survey-annual poverty indicators survey (LFS-APIS), the study examined whether professional licensing translates into advantages in employment, job quality, and remuneration among education science and related program graduates.

Nine out of 10 licensed graduates were participating in the labor market, 22 percentage points (ppts) higher than the 68 percent among their unlicensed counterparts. Licensed graduates also had a higher share of employed workers at 84 percent, compared with 54 percent among those without licenses.

However, the researchers found that licensure alone did not significantly raise wages.

“Earnings of education graduates are driven less by licensure alone and more by how their credentials interact with class of work, specifically whether the graduate is employed in the public sector,” the study said.

Education-occupation matching significantly increased wages, while the highest wage returns were recorded when graduates were both professionally licensed and employed by the government or government-owned and/or -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

Job matching also improved employment quality among licensed graduates, with those working in education-related jobs having a 7.2-percent probability of underemployment, lower than the 8.46 percent among those working outside the sector.

Licensed graduates in public employment had an even lower 3.98-percent probability of underemployment, compared with 14.73 percent among those in the private sector or self-employed.

Based on the findings, the researchers called for well-defined career pathways for education graduates to improve job matching in both licensure and non-licensure programs and better align employment opportunities with their skills and training.

The study also urged the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and the Department of Education (DepEd) to regularly review the alignment of teacher education programs, licensure examination competencies, and labor market needs.

The researchers recommended targeted capacity-building for higher education institutions (HEIs) with consistently weak licensure examination performance, as well as structured licensure preparation and assistance for graduates at risk of not passing the examination.

They also proposed expanding financial support for aspiring licensed professionals, noting that the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) currently provides its grantees with a one-time ₱8,000 reimbursement for taking board or licensure examinations.

The researchers further called for the integration of licensure, education, and employment data into national labor market information systems to strengthen teacher deployment, career placement, and coordination between higher education institutions and employers. - Danielle T. Bayani