THE RECENTLY published 2018 IMD World Talent Ranking report ought to raise some eyebrows, since it showed that our country’s “talent competitiveness” — or our ability to develop, attract and retain highly skilled professionals — eroded significantly this year. Out of 63 countries surveyed, we ranked 55th, dropping 10 places from last year’s 45th.
The report ranks countries on three broad factors: “Investment and Development,” relating to the amount and quality of resources devoted to cultivating homegrown human capital; “Appeal” or the ability of an economy to retain local talent and attract foreign professionals; and “Readiness” or the “quality of skills and competencies” available.
In the Philippines, significant decreases were found among several indicators related to the Readiness factor. Where we ranked 11th for this factor last year, we were 37th out of 63 in 2018.
Oddly enough, our biggest drop in a singular indicator was for “labor force growth” — from 4th last year to dead last (63rd). Official data appears to bear this out. According to the October 2016 and October 2017 Labor Force Surveys (LFS), 63.6 and 62.1 percent respectively of our working-age population were part of the labor force (meaning they were working or were actively looking for work). In October 2018, this labor force participation rate (LFBR) dropped to 60.6 percent.
What explains this? The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has yet to release its technical report for the October 2018 LFS. But one possible explanation is that more of our working-age youth are choosing to stay in school rather than look for work — a choice made much easier with the Free College Tuition law which we sponsored. There is also the ongoing shift to the K to 12 system where fewer students are graduating from college, albeit momentarily. In short, the apparent drop in our labor force growth could be caused by changes to our education system.
However, it’s in the other drops in Readiness indicators that the IMD’s latest report merits serious concern. A portion of the data used is culled from an Executive Opinion Survey, answered by a representative sample of top and middle-level management executives. And it appears that fewer respondents to this Executive Opinion Survey are confident in the quality of the country’s education system.
Specifically, fewer agreed that our educational system, including university-level instruction, “[meet] the needs of competitive economy”; that management education meets the needs of the current business community; and, that science is sufficiently emphasized in schools.
These findings echo a February 2018 Jobstreet survey among employers on whether they were willing to hire today’s crop of senior high school graduates. Among 503 company representatives, only 24 percent said they were willing, while 35 percent said they weren’t. Up to 41 percent said they were undecided.
All these are signs that it remains a struggle to close the loop between our education system and the private sector, pointing to perennial problems like job-skills mismatch, outdated curriculums and broader challenges like the continuous exodus of our people to greener pastures abroad.
Leaving these unresolved will only lead to the further erosion of our “talent competitiveness.” But while the issues are myriad and complex, it’s possible that the solution is simple. The government, the private sector, and the academe need to sit down, formulate, and follow through on a comprehensive human capital development plan.
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Sen. Sonny Angara was elected in 2013, and now chairs the Senate committees on local government, and ways and means. (Email: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara)/PN
