THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said it is confident the government’s efforts to address the jobs-skills mismatch will bear fruit, after the World Economic Forum (WEF) urged the Philippines to address critical shortcomings in education and job preparation to unlock the potential of its working-age population.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said that job-skills mismatch has been a “critical and important issue” requiring immediate attention.

“It is this recognition that both executive and legislative measures have been drafted, put in place and implemented and will continue to be implemented,” he told BusinessWorld via Viber chat.

Among the measures to address the perceived gaps in skills mismatch are the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the Labor and Employment Plan 2023-2028 and the National Technical Educational and Vocational Development Plan 2023-2028, he said.

He added that the Philippine Qualification Framework-National Coordinating Council has been established to address the skills requirements of business enterprises. The council is chaired by the Department of Education (DepEd) and representatives from the DoLE, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Commission on Higher Education, and the Professional Regulation Commission.

“There’s a Philippine Skills Framework led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that also helps out in addressing the gaps,” he noted.

A Joint Memorandum Circular between DepEd and TESDA calling for the embedding of vocational-technical subjects in the senior high school curriculum was also issued early last year, he added.

DoLE’s JobStart program, which combines on-the-job training with practical internships, and TESDA’s ongoing review and enhancement of training modules, are also among the government’s efforts to equip students with crucial skills before entering the workforce, Mr. Laguesma noted.

TESDA continuously reviews and updates its training modules to keep up with rapid technological advances and the evolving workplace to meet the needs of businesses and industry, he added.

“These interventions are in place and being undertaken vigorously,” the labor chief noted.

The Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act (Republic Act No. 11952) and the Enterprise Based Education and Training Act (RA No. 12063) have been passed to provide for the training, upskilling and retooling of workers to meet industry demands and enhance global competitiveness.

The WEF in its Future of Jobs Report 2025 published on Wednesday said fully harnessing the Philippines’ demographic dividend requires investment in education and skills development to boost workforce readiness.

Two-thirds of employers flagged skills gaps as a major challenge to growth in the next five years, leading them and the government to expand reskilling efforts.

By 2030, projections show that out of 100 workers, 32 will not require training, 28 will upskill in their current roles, 29 will upskill and shift to new roles, and 10 are unlikely to pursue additional training.

Employers in the WEF survey identified the top five public policy priorities to enhance talent availability in the Philippines, which are flexibility in hiring and firing practices (57%), reskilling and upskilling (52%), funding for reskilling and upskilling (48%), improvements in public education (48%) and changes to immigration laws (44%). — Chloe Mari A. Hufana