Manila Times-Apr 19
Implementation of the K-12 program has not significantly raised the hiring chances of fresh graduates, a jobs portal reported on Wednesday.
Jobstreet’s 2018 Fresh Graduate Report, which tracked job postings and results of a survey of employers, found 35 percent of the respondents saying they were not ready to employ graduates of the extended basic education program, which was implemented in stages beginning 2011.
K-12 graduates are supposed to be ready for employment and the first Grade 12 batch will graduate this year.
Forty-one percent of the respondents said they were undecided about hiring K-12 graduates and just 24 percent replied “yes”. Employers, however, “can only claim to have some knowledge” of the program based on a self-assessment, Jobstreet said.
Over a third, or 36 percent, said that available jobs were for college graduates only; 25 percent said K-12 graduates were not qualified, 20 percent claimed to have no openings for any position, and 16 percent cited the lack of work experience.
Of the undecided, 60 percent said they were still evaluating the company’s readiness and the availability of positions while the rest replied that they had yet to set a definite timeline for hiring Grade 12 graduates.
The business process outsourcing (21 percent), manufacturing (16 percent) and professional services sectors (12 percent) were the most open to hiring K-12 graduates, and overall those who said “yes” said the top positions available involved administrative, customer service, and marketing duties.
Attitudes/work ethics would be the primary condition for hiring, followed by interpersonal and communications skills.
Half of the respondents said they would be willing to pay minimum wages to K-12 graduates with another fourth ready to offer above minimum to P12,000 per month. Twenty percent was willing to offer salaries ranging from P12,001-15,000 and just 1 percent was willing to pay more than P20,000.
The rates are much lower than those available for college graduates and Jobstreet said that law-related, public relations and communications, and journalism/editing positions would pay the most at P27,355, P24,675 and P22,446 per month, respectively.
Based on job postings from October to December 2017, positions for fresh graduates increased by 10 percent last year with the outsourcing firms still the most welcoming, accounting for 45 percent of total jobs available. This was down significantly, however, from the 66 percent recorded in 2016.
“This shows that more and more employers and opening their doors to fresh graduates, presenting a significant shift in what employers need in these increasingly digital world,” said Philip Gioca, Jobstreet Philippines country manager.
The average salary for those with less than one year of experience also rose last year to P19,785 per month from P19,437. Employers in the National Capital Region on average offered the most at P19.984 while the lowest rate was P12,247 in Northern Mindanao.
Based on a February 2017 survey of employers, meanwhile, 74 percent of the respondents said they hired fresh graduates in 2017, mostly for accounting/finance, administrative and operations-related positions.
Attitude/work ethic remained the top hiring condition, followed by communications skills and practical thinking that replaced 2016’s field of study and asking salary preferences.
Willingness to learn, personal grooming and working in a team were rated as the best qualities of fresh graduates while leadership skills were among those that need improvement the most.
The top three schools from which employers hired fresh graduates were the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University.
Two schools from the provinces — the University of San Carlos and the University of Cebu — made it to the top 10.
