PBED study eyes HR development intervention to improve agri sector

THE Philippine Business for Education (PBED), in partnership with business groups, will launch a study aimed at laying down possible human resource development intervention and improvements within the agricultural sector.

A Future that Works is a program supported by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in partnership with Philippine Business for Education (PBED) and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Human Resources Development Foundation (PCCIHRDF) Inc.

The said program will launch the 2022 Philippines Fruits and Vegetable Processing (F&VP) Sector Labor Market Intelligence (LMI) Report on August 11.

“The research hopes to lay down possible human resource development intervention and improvements within the sector,” read the statement of PBED released on Monday.

PCCIHRDF President Dr. Alberto P. Fenix Jr. believes that since agriculture is such a big sector, studies that focus on specific sub-sector could help policymakers look at possible areas that might need assistance and collaboration.

“All studies for the agriculture sector are essential, especially for our country since we are moving out of the pandemic,” Fenix stressed.

Fenix said business groups are willing to coordinate with the government in looking for solutions and possible interventions that could be implemented, in this case for the Fruits and Vegetable Processing Sector.

According to PBED, the LMI Study contains inputs from various stakeholders in the government, industry and academe.

The education advocacy group said the study will present an overview of skills demands and potential career pathways in the fruits and vegetable processing sector, among others.

“Among the findings of the study that will be presented are opportunities in the sector against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution

4.0, and an overview of skills demands and possible career development pathways in the F&VP,” said PBED.

For her part, PBED Acting Executive Director Jusine B. Raagas said labor market intelligence reports like this can help the government have an idea on what kind of programs they should invest in.

“With the agricultural sector being one of the drivers of the Philippine administration’s push for growth and employment, a labor market intelligence report in the fruits and vegetable processing sector can be a useful tool in articulating industry signals that will help solve our job-skills mismatch problem,” said Raagas.

Further, Raagas said, schools and training institutions will also be informed what kind of programs they should offer and the kind of skills they should teach.

More importantly, she stressed, parents and children will be guided in choosing the right program to take.

Meanwhile, Fenix said, “As we promote sector development, we in the PCCIHRDF stress the importance of a skilled and qualified workforce in the hopes of building a generation of Filipinos that are gainfully employed or selfemployed in vibrant sectors such as in agriculture.”

F&VP President Carlo Castillo believes that this type of study is essential, especially in equipping micro and small business owners with the relevant knowledge to improve their operations and business.

“I personally come from Isabela where there are a lot of micro and small fruits and vegetable processors. We hope that this type of study could help inf luence the government in terms of possible interventions,” said Castillo.

In addition, Castillo said, “we also acknowledge that improving the sector’s human resources would be among the solutions to ensure competitiveness both domestically and internationally.”

The PCCIHRDF said it will be rolling out the results of the study to different areas in the country within the year to gather more inputs from various stakeholders.