The National Skills Mapping Survey (NSMS) has revealed that preparedness of graduates for animation, game development, software industry, and health information management sectors is low.
“Notably, the preparedness of graduates for the animation, game development, software industry, and health information management sectors is low,” according to a news statement released by the Board of Investments (BOI) this week, citing the NSMS.
NSMS is an initiative of the BOI and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
It aims to identify the human resource development needs of the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry and its sub-sectors to develop work-ready and globally competitive workers.
The survey is part of the provisions of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Strengthening Industry-Academe Linkages between the BOI and CHED. The MOU primarily focused on discussing the need for a more concurrent partnership between sectors to strengthen the industry-academe linkages and produce globally competitive workers for Philippine industries.
“The presentation of the survey is a crucial first step in translating its recommendations into actionable initiatives for the industry and address the gaps in the country’s human capital development, particularly in the following IT-BPM sectors: Animation, Game Development, Health-care Information Management, Software Development,” BOI said in a news statement issued on Monday.
Launched in November 2021 and concluded in January this year, the survey specifically aims to map out the skills requirements of the IT-BPM sector and course offerings of universities.
The BOI noted that such an initiative would help the industry stakeholders to consider the changes in the labor market brought about by the pandemic and the fast adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.
Ana Maria “Penny” S. Bongato, an HR practitioner for more than two decades in growing industries and the former Executive Director of Talent Development of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), presented the results of the survey.
According to Bongato, the country’s IT-BPM industry is changing at a “very fast pace,” particularly during the pandemic, as people are working in the comfort and safety of their homes.
In addition, the survey found out that some companies partner with the academe in terms of internship and curriculum development. However, smaller studios may not have the headcount (HR group) to dedicate to such partnership.
“We have to work faster and together…companies must continue to intervene to prepare new hires for actual work to be done,” Bongato noted, “quality of talents needs to be addressed for us to be competitive.”
The HR practitioner pointed out that deliberate efforts among different government agencies are crucial to working as one in developing surveys and programs that would help the various sectors.
“Soft skills continue to be one of the main concerns of the sectors, which include the following: communication, work ethics, problem-solving, and critical thinking,” Bongato emphasized.
The survey recommended that the education sector (basic and tertiary) should work hand in hand with the industry on ways of improving the competencies of the students.
It also suggested that there should be a review of the existing programs being implemented by various government agencies, namely: Bachelor of Science in Entertainment and Multimedia Computing for Animation and Game Development, BSBA and BS IT with specialization in Service Management, Nursing informatics subject submitted by the Health-care Information Management Association of the Philippines (HIMAP), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) programs.
Deemed crucial to the IT-BPM industry, the Philippines Skills Framework (PSF) will shore up the development of more talents for the said industry.
Bongato recommended that government agencies working with the sectors should have a consolidated effort so that more coordinated programs may be developed from planning to execution and review.
The HR practitioner also stressed that streamlining government agencies’ efforts in working with the sectors will result in more coordinated programs that may be developed from planning to execution and review and evaluation.
Meanwhile, in addressing the skills gap in the IT-BPM industry, Director Cherrie Melanie Ancheta-Diego of CHED pointed out that quality assurance should be the primary focus to strengthen such an industry.
“The result of the survey will be a significant input for us,” the CHED official emphasized and “this is the spark of our continuing conversation.”
On recommendations, the participants of the event agreed on the survey recommendations to conduct a comprehensive curriculum review and the realignment of existing IT-related course offerings in schools.
Another takeaway from the Trade and Industry Development Talks (TIDTalks) was the emboldened support to the academe through the development of policies, plans, and programs relevant to the IT-BPM industry.
The industry stakeholder participants in the TIDTalks also agreed to push for coordinated programs for the upskilling and retooling of the IT-BPM work force as well as the strengthened local and international branding support for Filipino talents and their IT-related works.