AROUND 19,000 jobs will be made available to senior high school graduates by the Philippine Business for Education’s (PBEd) youth employment program, reflecting growing confidence in hiring students with such credentials.
In a statement on Tuesday, PBEd announced “Over 19,000 entry-level jobs and 400 work immersion positions for senior high school graduates and students recently opened through ‘First Future’.”
“First Future” aims to provide training and employment opportunities to senior high school students and graduates by private-sector partners from various industries. The initiative is funded by the Citi Foundation as part of its Pathways to Progress initiative launched in December.
PBEd’s Second Job Outlook Survey of 80 companies across 20 industries in 2019 found that three out of five companies are open to hiring senior high school graduates while three out of five are also ready to hire them. This is higher than the result of the first Job Outlook Survey in 2017, which found that only one out of five companies were ready to hire K-12 graduates.
PBEd Chairman Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr. said he is positive more employers are starting to show confidence in K-12 graduates for entry-level jobs.
“We are pleased to announce that over the past year, we are now seeing more openness in what once was a hesitant environment, as more companies are choosing to hire based on competencies rather than credentials,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Some of these jobs were offered in past caravans under First Future held in Manila and Cebu. Based on the 2,300 students who participated in both events, 35% were considered hireable while 52% were qualified for another round of interviews. — Gillian M. Cortez
