Thousands of workers lose jobs: is there any hope?
I just finished watching the late night news. Somehow, it alarmed me to see signs of what everyone has been dreading to happen for the past months. The global economic turmoil has started creeping into the country.
I don’t wanna say it’s a bleak economy right in front of us because it terrifies me. But more and more people everyday are being displaced from jobs here and abroad.
Here in the Philippines alone, Filipino workers who lost their jobs have already reached 15,000. Intel, for one, is reported to close down their assembly test facility in Cavite City due to the decline of market demands in electronics.
Though the government is assuring that there are enough jobs that are up and coming, one can’t help but wonder where these jobs are.
And granting these jobs are available right in front of our faces, would our skills match with the requirements of the jobs? Employers especially in the BPO and Call Center industries have long revealed that they have many positions left unfilled for so long due to jobs-skills mismatch.
It would be tremendous if the government would be MORE aggressive in identifying the job demands here and abroad and be MORE aggressive in information dissemination - like saturating the Barangay levels. Given this, it would help a lot if MORE people will and can take advantage of TESDA’s programs that will equip them with the skills to match the hottest jobs available.
It would also be a big boost if entrepreneurship among Filipinos is strongly encouraged and supported by the government, banking and business sectors.
Malacañang has repeatedly announced that the Philippine economy is robust and can withstand the ill effects of the global financial crisis.
But should we choose to wait and see?
To me, this is not a sole responsibility of the government. As JFK once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”
What can we do?
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