Senator Raffy Tulfo is proposing the integration of the Enterprise-based Training Program into the current senior high school curriculum to make secondary school graduates more employable.

Tulfo, speaking at the Senate hearing on Enterprise-based Training to Employment or EBET Act on Monday, stressed that senior high school students must undergo an apprenticeship program that will be counted as valid work experience for them, thus making them more qualified for a job right after graduation. 

"Companies hiring K to 12 graduates are predominantly from sectors such as construction, food and beverage services, BPO (business process outsourcing) and food processing," he said. 

Tulfo cited the study conducted by the Philippine Business for Education that only about 20 percent of 70 leading companies across all sectors nationwide "were inclined to hire senior high graduates." 

"The problem is that there is a disconnect between our educational curriculum, particularly in Senior High, and actual industry needs which may be addressed through Enterprise-based Training Program, which is what the present bill is about," Tulfo added. 

Tulfo said students, once graduated, may continue their training program, "but their compensation should no longer be limited to 75 percent of the minimum wage."

"There must be a mechanism so that the EBET program will not be abused to circumvent the security of tenure," he said, adding that the program should not be used as a substitute to end contract schemes by the companies. 

"We must clarify the labor standards of the EBET program," he said. "And to further encourage the employment of Senior High graduates and the implementation of this EBET program, we may provide more than just tax incentives.  We could also provide recognition awards to participating enterprises, and incentives from LGUs for hiring local Senior High graduates."

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva discussed the low tur-out of learners taking the EBET program. 

Villanueva said the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority had previously formulated the National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan for 2018-2022 setting an "ambitious target" to increase the percentage of learners taking enterprise-based training from 4 percent in 2016 to 40 percent by 2022.

"However, by the end of 2022, we are still far from such targets, with enrollees and graduates reaching only 209,975 (16.66 percent of all tech-voc learners) and 190,979 (or 15.51 percent) respectively," Villanueva noted. 

Even the number of EBET providers has declined from 983 schools in 2019 to 830 in 2022 and 684 by the end of August this year. 

"This is really unfortunate, considering that EBET has proven to be a reliable bridge connecting our trainees to employment," Villanueva said.

Hence, the push for the passage of Senate Bill 363 or the Enterprise-Based Education and Training to Employment Act. 

Once enacted, Gatchalian said the measure would further encourage more companies to join the enterprise-based training program.

"This program is not new, it's just not being maximized and corporations are not attracted to join this program but I feel this is really one of the more important or probably the most important programs under TESDA that we should expand in order to create more jobs and highly skilled workers," he pointed out.

Gatchalian previously emphasized the need for the Philippines to address "bottlenecks in basic education" to help propel the nation to first-world status by 2050.