The government and the private sector should encourage the setting up of more technical-vocational education providers and focus on nutrition programs for mothers to quickly uplift the lives of the poor and boost the national economy.

Lawyer Benedicta Du-Baladad, president of the Management Association of the Philippines, urged the government and businesses to expand partnerships with technical-vocational education providers in communities nationwide to offer job opportunities to Filipinos, especially the poor, who have no ambitions to pursue college studies.

"We're looking at how we can scale up technical-vocational education because there are many parents who are just waiting for their kids to graduate so they can help their families. And many are not capable of going to college so they are just happy to be employed," Du-Baladad said Wednesday on the Daily Tribune's show Straight Talk.

Short-term courses preferred

However, she said the educators should promote short-term courses still related to higher knowledge and skill development to make graduates adaptive to the needs of employers amid the rapid technological advancements globally.

Du-Baladad said the review of the K-12 program of the Department of Education is critical in enabling Filipinos to be employed faster, as officials are considering designing two-year tracks for high school students to immediately gain industry-specific knowledge and skills without entering college.

"K-12 was made so graduates can be readily employable by businesses. But data show only four percent of them are picked up by businesses. Majority of the rest work in their communities as masseurs or hairstylists," she said.