Criminology and Nursing consistently rank among the highest enrollment courses in Philippine schools despite not reflecting actual labor market demand, and the jobs mismatch problem has persisted for decades without a durable solution, Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said Thursday.
Tolentino made the statement in an interview on DZRH News program The Situation Report on September 10, discussing TESDA’s role in bridging the gap between what Philippine schools produce and what Philippine employers actually need.
He said the mismatch is structural and self-reinforcing — students choose courses based on what is popular or familiar rather than what the economy will need by the time they graduate, and by graduation, the job market has already shifted again.
“Kahit nung nasa Senado pa ako, jobs mismatch pa rin ang pinag-uusapan. Napakalaking problema ‘yan. Noong araw pag nag-iikot ako, lahat ng mga eskwela ang sinasabi pinakamataas na enrollment rate nila ay Criminology. Government at private na educational institutions. Nursing, ibig sabihin hindi based doon sa demand, sa pangangailangan five years from now. Kasi bago ka grumaduate, iba na ulit ang needs,” Tolentino said.
He said TESDA exists precisely to fill this gap — retraining graduates whose courses did not match available jobs, upskilling workers who need additional qualifications, and reskilling those displaced by industry shifts or automation.
“So ‘yun ang trabaho ng TESDA, gawa ng solusyon sa puwang ng mismatch. Ito pumapasok ang mga retraining nila, upskilling, reskilling,” Tolentino said.
He said returning OFWs are among the priority beneficiaries of TESDA’s retraining programs, with the DMW-DOLE partnership ensuring that workers coming home from abroad are given the skills they need to find meaningful livelihood in the Philippines rather than being forced to redeploy immediately.
Tolentino said solving the jobs mismatch requires a forward-looking approach that anticipates what skills will be in demand five to ten years from now, rather than simply training workers for industries that are already saturated or declining.
