ABOUT 3 out of every 10 young job applicants still lack the essential “soft” skills to be hired, a new study conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) showed.
Based from the Philippine Talent Map Initiative (PTMI) of the DOLE, 31.7 percent of, or about 18,928 of its 59,704 respondents who went through its skills assessment needed further training to be employed.
The PTMI defined soft skills as personal attributes, personality traits, inherent social cues and communication abilities needed for success on the job.
The other 68.3 percent or 40,781 were classified as employable, owing to their soft skills to be hired for the job.
The study measured the competency of each respondent on 15 soft skills set, which were deemed by the DOLE relevant for 21st-century employment.
The majority of the participants scored high in the assessment for English functional skills; Math functional skills; workplace ethics; English comprehension; and multitasking.
They got average points for critical thinking; stress tolerance; social perceptions; self motivation; and problem sensitivity.
Their lowest points were on teamwork; decision making; innovation; planning and organizing; and creative problem solving.
The PTMI noted more educated job applicants tend to score better for skills related to grit, decision making, agreeableness and extraversion than their less educated counterparts.
Due to lack of applicants with the necessary soft skills, the DOLE said many firms are unable to fill-up their available vacancies prompting many of them to put up their own socio-emotional skills training.
“Two-thirds of employers report difficulty in finding workers with adequate work ethics or appropriate interpersonal and communication skills,” the DOLE said.
The DOLE earlier said it is already trying to address this by introducing programs like Jobstart, which exposes the youth to soft-skills training.
Citing data from job-search web site Jobstreet, the DOLE said companies tend to prioritize applicants who show willingness to learn; practice personal grooming; and capable of working in a team.
Employers also value those who show punctuality; go beyond the call of duty; ability to handle stress; leadership potential; efficient in task management; exhibit customer empathy; and a sense of initiative.
The impact of possessing these soft skills, the DOLE said, tend to go beyond employability since workers, who have competency in them have increases in their daily earnings.
It said this is particular true for women, young workers, less-educated workers and those employed in the service sector.
The four-year PTMI study was conducted by the DOLE together with SFI Group of Companies and HireLabs Inc.
It covered over 89,928 students, employed, unemployed and trainees in 81 provinces nationwide making it the most “comprehensive competency profile of the Philippine work force.”
The project aims to solve the perennial jobs-skills mismatch in the country, and determine the skills and talent deficiencies of the local work force.