by Aisa Q. Hipolito
When employment-oriented network LinkedIn released its 2019 Emerging Jobs in the Philippines Report, results showed the need to produce competent graduates who can take on hybrid jobs like data scientists, application development analysts, back end developers, full stack engineers, and sales development representatives.
The need for these professionals reflects opportunities and challenges for both the academe and the private sector. According to a joint study by Google and Temasek, the internet economy is projected to reach $240 billion by 2025. The World Economic Forum, on the other hand, also reported that every industry has a need for data analysts and specialized sales representatives.
For the academe, there is a pressure and urgency to stay relevant: by making sure that graduates develop competencies required of a constantly changing business landscape. Naturally, the private sector would prefer to hire future-ready professionals instead of spending for their upscaling. This is where academe-industry partnerships become more crucial than ever.
There have been talks of transforming the education system in a way that would make students spend more time in the workplace. This takes the cue of the German apprenticeship model, where students spend as much as 75 percent of time in internships instead of classrooms. The experiences of other countries tell us that the German apprenticeship model is not replicable in all countries. A takeaway from this model tells us, however, that giving students meaningful exposure to the corporate world equips them with the expertise they need to succeed as professionals.
Our experience at STI Education Services Group, Inc. tells us the same thing. Our students taking up a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management or Information Technogy, for example, get an entire semester in internships when they reach fourth year. Upon completion of their internships, students are usually offered employment since they have already acquired the skill set that companies require.
Internships, however, are just one facet of young Filipinos’ formation as well-rounded, future-ready professionals. By offering academic programs that reflect the needs of the private sector, schools can establish their relevance in boosting the country’s competitiveness. In the next school year, STI will be the first school to offer a Bachelor of Science in Retail Technology and Consumer Science and an Associate in Retail Technology in in the Philippines — a major step in our objective to grab the opportunities in the country and across the region.
Graduates of this program can pursue careers as analytic consultants, big data analysts, data scientists, digital marketing e-commerce specialists, omni-channel marketing managers, technopreneurs, and specialized sales representatives. Like all STI’s courses, this program was designed with the help of topnotch industry experts and leaders.
STI’s curriculum is a product of an intensive market research, which also takes into account different job opportunities, students’ interests and preferences, and ever-changing industry trends. In updating our course syllabi, we generate insights by engaging industry leaders and employers in dialogue. We also make sure that our faculty members nationwide are equipped with the same level of expertise in rolling out our different programs. To make this happen, we rely on our Learning Delivery System (LDS) that covers courseware development, faculty training and certification.
Another way that schools can empower students is by giving them the earliest possible opportunities to join the workforce. This can work by giving students more flexible arrangements. By exploring this possibility, schools can help provide the talents that industries require to foster growth and innovation in the business landscape. In the long run, schools can have a greater role in addressing the persistent challenges of unemployment and a jobs-education mismatch in the country.
Can all schools do this? We believe that if schools can have greater autonomy to design their own curricula, the academe can be an even greater force in fostering inclusive growth and sustainable development amidst constant shifts in the business scene. In the meantime, partnerships between the academe and the private sector will remain key to future-proofing young Filipino professionals.
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