Senator Benigno Aquino IV has underscored the need to pass into law a measure seeking to expand and strengthen job placement offices in schools.
“While we will strive to provide free, quality education to Filipinos, we should ensure this translates to jobs and job security, and the Trabaho Centers in Schools Act can help make this happen,” Aquino said, referring to his Senate Bill No. 1278, otherwise known as Trabaho Centers in Schools Act.
Aquino said the bill will help address the problems of unemployment and underemployment by ensuring that suitable jobs await both high school and college graduates.
“By strengthen linkages between school and companies through the Trabaho Centers, we can lessen the number of unemployment and underemployment in the country,” he said.
By institutionalizing job placement offices in public schools and colleges, the senator said this will address the prevalent jobs mismatch in the country, serving as bridge between the job market and supply of graduates.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Office showed the country’s unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent with over two- million jobless Filipinos. The number of underemployed Filipinos was pegged at 7.51 million.
“Clearly, there is a need, not only to generate employment opportunities, but also to address the jobs mismatch in the country,” he said.