EMPLOYERS are assigning more weight to job applicants’ growth potential compared with educational attainment, according to Sprout Solutions, a software-as-a-service company specializing in human resources (HR) offerings.

“Previously, the trend was for HR professionals to look at a person’s educational background, but now they don’t even look at their resumes,” Arlene De Castro, chief product officer of Sprout Solutions, said at a briefing.

“More and more companies are adopting the mindset of looking at how a person can grow in their organizations.”

According to Sprout’s State of HR 2023 report released on Thursday, Philippine employers are now hiring younger applicants to save money, with compensation becoming less competitive this year.

About 57.1% of employers offer in-house training programs with the goal of retaining and upskilling recruits, against the 40% recorded a year earlier.

Patrick Gentry, chief executive officer and co-founder of Sprout, said the firm is working with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and other agencies to help smaller companies streamline HR processes.

“We work with each of these agencies with the goal of automating and streamlining their processes to make them comply with government standards,” he said at the briefing.

“With the way that the country is opening up now, what we’re seeing is healthy competition for talent.”

Sprout said the main areas of focus for HR departments are employee growth opportunities (43.3%), recruitment (41.1%), and learning development (40.85%).

The DoLE has said it is working on narrowing the gap between worker skills and employer needs this year through upskilling programs.

Ms. De Castro noted that more companies should adopt remote or hybrid work setups to attract and retain talent.

According to the report, 51% of HR professionals in the Philippines say their work is predominantly on-site, while 50.5% expect the adoption of hybrid work in the near future.

“It is now an employee-centric world, and many workers now demand flexibility,” she said.

Job quality in the Philippines worsened in April, as the underemployment rate, which measures workers seeking further employment or longer hours, increased to 12.9% from 11.2% a month earlier, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The jobless rate fell to a four-month low of 4.5% from 4.7% in March.

The Asian Development Bank  has said the pandemic increased the need for digital skills with companies continuing to shift towards digitalization.

“Employers are now seeking rising stars or those from the younger generation to see how they can contribute to the market, instead of looking at an applicant’s work experience,” Ms. De Castro said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

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