SM spurs job-market evolution

SM spurs job-market evolution | Daily Tribune

SM Investments, the parent company of the SM group, is harnessing the strength of its diverse business ecosystem to help bridge the country’s skills gap and prepare the workforce for the demands of a rapidly evolving, tech-driven economy.

With interests across retail, property, banking, and investments, SM is aligned with the implementation of the Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET)Framework, a newly enacted law aimed at strengthening public-private collaboration, especially in the industry and education sectors.

The EBET Framework promotes industry-driven apprenticeships and training programs that equip Filipino workers with job-ready skills aligned to actual market needs.

“SM is able to function at its optimum because of the skills of our people. As our businesses continue to grow, so too is our need for more skilled and resilient professionals to add to our workforce. We shall continue to do our share to upskill and professionalize the Filipino workforce to make them competitive in the ever-evolving job market,” said Frederic DyBuncio, president and CEO of SM Investments.

He added that SM’s responsibility to contribute to a skilled, resilient workforce goes beyond employing them within the SM ecosystem.

“Whether they work for us or even in other companies, we are committed to equipping them with the right tools, as we have been doing so with our investments in education through institutions like the National University and Asia-Pacific College, both non-profits and of course the SM Foundation, which has been graduating scholars for more than 40 years,” Mr. DyBuncio said.

As of 2024, SM has over 142,000 employees across its ecosystem of businesses operating in key areas nationwide, making it one of the country’s top job creators. A majority of job functions in SM are in sales, engineering, IT and other STEM-related positions.

SM Investments’ vice chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson is a member of the Private Sector Advisory Council Education and Jobs group, a public-private partnership formed in 2022 to help address employment gaps.

A key initiative resulting from this partnership are job fairs mounted in SM malls across the country as part of the group’s J.O.B.S. program.

Since 2024 until May 2025, SM has hosted 244 job fairs in its malls, with 8,095 employers and 149,626 job seekers participating and 20,616 hired on the spot.

Just recently, BDO Unibank launched an accelerated hiring process for IT and cybersecurity professionals. Among the positions offered were for project management, cloud technologies and operations, security analyst and security engineer, customer relationship management delivery, among other IT-related jobs.

In 2024, The SM Foundation welcomed more than 1,100 new college scholars, its largest batch to date.

The program has nurtured over 4,600 graduates since its founding. In a recent alumni homecoming, 925 graduates across 27 batches shared their career journeys, with a majority now gainfully employed across various fields.

Additionally, 71 percent of the alumni have pursued further studies, including master’s degrees, PhDs, secondary degrees and other professional programs.

The SM Foundation Scholarship Program provides full tuition coverage, comprehensive enrichment activities, part-time jobs, internship placements and potential career opportunities within the SM Group.

National University, one of the oldest educational institutions in the country founded in 1900, was acquired by SM in 2008 and has since embarked on a long-term campus expansion strategy to make education within reach. With the expansion, NU is aiming to reach 100,000 students in 2027.

While some programs in NU, particularly in Allied Health and Engineering, are long-established, of note are the courses offered in their College of Computing and Information Technologies that lean towards the future of digitalization, among them: BS Computer Science with specialization in Digital Forensics and Machine Learning; BS Information Technology with specialization in Mobile and Web Applications and Multimedia Arts and Animation.

Asia Pacific College, founded in 1991 as a partnership between SM Foundation and IBM Philippines, has been championing an industry-based curriculum that combines traditional classroom learning and hands-on experience calibrated to produce competitive IT professionals.

APC’s Multimedia Arts program is notable for combining technology and creativity, merging current disciplines in the creative field and the relevant knowledge of the digital creative tools currently used in the industry.

APC recently announced that 97.28% of its graduates as of 2024 have successfully secured employment after graduation.