‘Poll gives DepED review of K+12’

An official of the Department of Education (DepED) sees the survey conducted by recruitment site Jobstreet Philippines as a positive source for checking how well K to 12 or Senior High School (SHS) graduates can find jobs.

DepEd Undersecretary Jesus Mateo, in a statement Friday, said the poll is a “welcome opportunity for DepEd to have baseline data on the employers’ willingness to hire K to 12 graduates.”

Early this week, Jobstreet Philippines released a report showing 24 percent of employers in the country are willing to hire K to 12 or SHS graduates.

“(The) 24 percent is about two in 10 of company employees, a good enough percentage to take in K to 12 grads in entry level positions doing administrative and support work to technical, supervisory and managerial levels,” it said.

Companies willing to hire K to 12 graduates include business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, manufacturing, professional services, retail, and machinery and equipment.

According to Jobstreet’s report, 35 percent of employers who participated in the survey said they are not yet ready to hire K to 12 completers, while 41 percent said they are looking into hiring the completers but have not yet set a definite timeline.

“It is a challenge at the same time for K to 12 grads to develop their skills and be the company’s engine to growth, coupled with the right attitude they will surely succeed in the labor market,” Mateo said.

DepEd, in a press briefing earlier, said that the department is expecting more than 1.2 million K to 12 learners to graduate by April.

Some 61.13 percent or 765,588 of them took the academic track and will pursue college, while 38.32 percent or 479,866 completed the technical-vocational studies and will most likely seek employment right away.