Ma. Dorothy Joy N.

Lucmayon
Group 2
Labor Law/ Job and Skill Mismatch
BACKGROUND
Skill mismatch happens when there is a higher or lower level of skills required to carry out
a job. A mismatch between an individual’s skills (i.e. technical, generic, and soft skills) and those
which are required in their jobs. It involves skill deficit (skill gap) and skill underutilization.

For years, employers in the industry have provided on-the-job training under the
apprenticeship law until 1986 when the government issued an Executive Order which limited the
period of apprenticeship to six months. The low level of basic education of majority of our
workforce and the predominance of micro and small enterprises which provide inadequate job
training programs contributes to the job-skill mismatch (Daily Tribune, 2018).

A study shows that many Filipino students and jobseekers alike still require additional
training in order to become employable. A percentage of 31.7 percent or 18,980 individuals from
a total number of 90,000 respondents showed that they needed further training, as indicated by
the Philippine Talent Map Initiative. Along with private companies, the Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) conducted a study in order to examine and determine the current issues
and trends which the academe and the industry faces with regards to workforce development
(The Philippine Star, 2018).

Spokesman of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines

(ALU-TUCP) pointed out that job mismatch is the prime driver of underemployment. A great
number of students who will graduate from college and finish their vocational courses will likely
find difficulty in jobs because of the growing mismatch between the training they have been
exposed to and the skills which are required by most employers (The Manila Times, 2017).

OBJECTIVE
General: To know how job and skill mismatch affect employment and the labor industry in the
Philippines and give recommendations to resolve it.

SIGNIFICANCE
This study aims to pave way for dialogue not just between the government and employers
but also with employees alike. As the number of underemployed but educated Filipino continue
to rise, there is a need to know how job and skill mismatch affecting employment and the labor
industry could be resolved.

SOURCES
Many Filipino students, Jobseekers Not ‘employable’. M. Jaymalin. The Philippine Star.
December 27, 2018. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/12/27/1880174/many-filipino-
students-jobseekers-notemployable?fbclid=IwAR0mN9WLSqlOfb8TqwYvl2VsVYposnPMmJ0O-
AVdqvUASRcgfEIKeEbjriI#VrptFa8EZMBJCHm2.99. Retrieved Sep. 04, 2019.

1 Million graduates face job-skill Mismatch. W. Depasupil. The Manila Times. March 14, 2017.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2017/03/14/news/top-stories/1-million-graduates-face-job-skill-
mismatch/317111/. Retrieved Sep. 04, 2019.

Job-Skills Mismatch. E. Lacson. Daily Tribune. November 30, 2018.

https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2018/11/30/job-skills-mismatch/. Retrieved Sep. 04, 2019.