The right jab?

Renato Tibon .

“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” (Walt Disney)

EVERY parent’s fervent wish, after settling with a stable job, permanent abode and capacity to meet family exigencies, is to see children finish school, even sending them away from home to the best academes that can give the “edge,” notwithstanding the exorbitant matriculation and incidental costs. Some would give up their comfort and barter precious resources in favor of their children getting the right academic courses to become professionals and able to land high-paying jobs.

No matter the cost, these parents may only want what’s better than what they have achieved in their present circumstances. Thus, we hear success stories of average laborers, farmers, security guards or even of a laundrywoman, who were able to put their children through school, against all odds, through blood, sweat and tears, and even graduating at the top of their class. 

There really is nothing out of ordinary with this dream except that only a few can realistically afford it. There are those who can only manage to reach high school or college level and become dropouts accepting unstable menial jobs in order to earn and help augment the family’s income.

Precious and few are stories of those whose lot in life precluded them from pursuing even a decent career to excel academically and yet excelled in an arena of their choice. Like one great boxer who, idolized by many, gives impetus to the realization of their dreams notwithstanding the fact that they could never be like him, not even in another lifetime. I’m referring to the “Pambansang Kamao”, the irrepressible Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, the hardy prize fighter who “jabbed” his way to the top, he, with an academic handicap but mean fists, to rise beyond his limitations and equip himself with the necessary learning tools to become a successful businessman and this nation’s only boxer-turned-senator. He will continue to be a spark of hope and an inspiration to a struggling majority of our young and unemployed countrymen who are still waiting for the right break. That break didn’t come like a flash of lightning for one of the greatest animators the world has known, Walt Disney. His story of “dedication and willingness to persevere,” a school dropout and a string of heartbreaking failures as a small-time cartoonist and businessman notwithstanding, marked a remarkable and successful life, where he could say with confidence that the “key lies within your most unexpected daydreams; if you can dream it, you can do it.”

There are more stories of school dropouts reaching the pinnacle of their dreams that can fill a book but it is not a norm we wish to extol or encourage. Education is a must for all in spite of the sordid fact that many, in this country ended up in the unemployed/jobless cesspool who are becoming a liability first to their once hopeful parents and to the community.

Imagine feeding a whole lot of penniless citizens, who for survival had to turn to criminality, peddling drugs and committing other felonious acts just to get by. The government cannot continue to turn a blind eye to this reality and must dig deeper into its bag of tricks to address employment problems. Now finding the right job or jab would still need a little reassuring push from authorities.

To sustain economic growth, the State should look closely into the needs of its human capital and the requirements of the labor market. Some firms report difficulty in hiring workers due to inadequate job skills, high wage expectations and lack of qualified applicants. To be sure, there are measures other than those that cater to academic and cognitive skills required by employers, which just need a good budge in implementation like the ones mandated of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda). It serves as the country’s Technical Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVET) to develop the Filipino workforce with “world-class competence and positive work values” and to provide quality technical-educational and skills development programs. These include socioemotional skills which complement the training under TVET mandate. Accordingly, “socio-emotional skills include the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to recognize and control emotions and behaviors, establish and maintain positive relationships, make responsible decision and solve challenging situations and set and achieve positive goals. Sometimes labeled as 21st century skills, soft skills, non-cognitive skills or character attributes, socioemotional skills have been shown to be malleable and linked to academic, career and life success.” The World Bank report identified apprenticeship programs and other forms of vocational education as having the potential to promote socioemotional skills development. Tesda can thus look into the evaluation of the effects of socioemotional skills to TVET as this would also equip the former in implementing grounded reforms which could propel graduates to their maximum potentials. (Source: Google, Tesda report)

Clearly, this needs sustained government support and along this line, Congressman Rufus B. Rodriguez as representative of District 2 Cagayan de Oro City filed a bill which will establish a Tesda Training and Accreditation Center in Barangay Camaman-an to “provide relevant and quality technical-vocational education and training (TVET), including practical short-term specialty courses and one-year to three-year Tesda-registered technical-vocational skills training programs and certificate courses, to out-of-school youth, high school students and graduates, unemployed and underemployed adults, other workers in the informal sector, and residents from low-income families, as well as persons with disabilities, in Barangay Camaman-an and the rest of Cagayan de Oro City, and the neighboring towns and communities of the Province of Misamis Oriental, to help them become productive, self-reliant and globally competitive labor assets.” 

Evidently, to secure a good future, all our children really need is the right push and the right job.

(Renato Gica Tibon is a fellow of the Fellowship of the 300, an elite organization under Centrist Democracy Political Institute with focus on political technocracy. He  holds both position as political action officer and program manager of the Institute. He is the former regional chairman for Region 10 and vice president for Mindanao of the Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines.)