(Conclusion)

MACTAN, Cebu — European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines president Paulo Duarte emphasized the need for stronger collaboration among the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), technical schools, and the private sector, particularly to upskill workers and support medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) in adopting new technologies.

“There are several memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed between European companies and TESDA that are still on paper,” Duarte said. “They need to come into the execution part.”

European Union-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (EU-ASEAN) Business Council Executive Director Chris Humphrey warned that many education systems in the region are not keeping pace with the speed of technological change.

“A lot of the jobs that exist today will not exist in 10 years,” he said.

In response, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan acknowledged that overlapping rules and fragmented processes remain a challenge, particularly in sectors involving multiple government agencies.

“We really have to adopt a whole-of-government, whole-of-nation approach,” Ablan told DAILY TRIBUNE in a separate interview.

He said agencies such as the DTI, the Department of Energy, TESDA and the Department of Education must align their policies and coordinate more closely to reduce bottlenecks and conflicting requirements.

Policies must be coordinated 

“Sometimes we have our own rules and sometimes they clash,” Ablan said. “[We] have to adjust our policies to lessen the bottlenecks and all of the delays.”

Ablan added that the government is also pushing to conclude the EU-Philippines Free Trade Agreement, which he said could help accelerate investments and improve trade processes.

“We’re hoping to close our EU-Philippines FTA soon,” he said. “Hopefully this year, and then it will get signed by next year.”

On workforce readiness, Ablan said the government is working on strengthening the Philippine Skills Framework and the Philippine Qualifications Framework to align local certifications with international standards.

“We need to reunite that and agree on what our certification is going to be, so that once a worker meets that certification, they become immediately employable anywhere,” he said.

Ablan said TESDA, the DepEd, and DTI must work together to ensure that training programs align with industry demand, particularly in the sustainability and technical sectors.

“DTI has to inform TESDA what the market is demanding and TESDA will conduct the training,” he said.

He added that the government has also been conducting sustainability-focused training programs for MSMEs through the Philippine Trade Training Center.

“For example, we conduct trainings for MSMEs to embrace sustainability practices, converting to solar energy, proper solid waste management, those things,” Ablan said.

Despite the challenges, the business leaders said the current energy crisis and geopolitical tensions present an opportunity for the Philippines and ASEAN to accelerate their sustainability efforts and diversify energy sources.

“The crisis can be seen as an opportunity,” Duarte said. “It can accelerate execution.”