The promise of employability

Dean Elmer Lolin of the University of Northeastern Philippines (Unep) College of Business Education was emphatic. “You must come and speak to the deans of the business schools and their students about CMO 6 and the IT BPM (information technology and business process management) industry,” he said.

The occasion was the 14th Regional Congress of the Association of Bicol Business Students (ABBS). Unep president Remelissa Alfelor-Moraleda announced that the university was hosting the event at its sprawling campus in Iriga, Camarines Sur. When I got there, ABBS regional president Christian Emmanuel Alfelor said more than 700 delegates from 18 universities in Region V had registered. Dr. Delicia A. Tibi and Dr. Eleanor A. Osea, Unep VPs for finance and academic affairs, respectively, were on hand to welcome the delegates and the deans of the participating schools.

The young men and women had convened at Unep to express their views, exchange ideas and share their dreams of embarking on a fulfilling career here or abroad, and even their fears, but most of all their aspirations for themselves and their families.

By their junior year, most business students are probably already aware that their degree will put them at the leading edge of the 21st-century business environment.

It is an environment driven by metrics and informed by a professional service culture, and where advanced technologies are leveraged for collaborative work with other business entities, geographical boundaries notwithstanding.

Most importantly, it is an environment where one’s continued success and upward mobility in the workplace is premised on the ability to communicate effectively in a global language like English.

|Thinking critically, communicating effectively, and working collaboratively—the “soft skills”—greatly improve the college graduate’s overall employability.

A recent Time magazine article by Martha C. White titled “The Real Reason New College Grads Can’t Get Hired” cites a survey by the Workforce Solutions Group at St. Louis Community College showing that more than 60 percent of employers say applicants lack “communication and interpersonal skills.” The survey also shows that a wide margin of managers say today’s applicants can’t think critically and creatively, solve problems, or write well.

White cites another employer survey, this time done by a staffing company named Adecco, which says that “44 percent of respondents cited soft skills, such as communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration, as the area with the biggest gap.” Only half as many say a lack of technical skills is the pain point.

I also recently learned of a study by the Bureau of Local Employment that lists IT BPM as one of the top 10 industries in the Philippines, with the highest-paying jobs.

The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) is the enabling organization for the IT BPM industry. It includes 300 member-companies, as well as the Health Information Management Outsourcing Association of the Philippines, the Animation Council of the Philippines, the Game Development Association of the Philippines, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines, and the Philippine Software Industry Association.

The IT BPM industry is now the country’s biggest private-sector employer and accounts for 4 to 5 percent of our Gross Domestic Product. One of Ibpap’s member-companies has more than 50,000 employees nationwide. In 2013, an estimated 900,000 full-time employees were hired. Furthermore, for every job that this industry generates, at least three more are created in other industries like food services and transportation.

Due to the diverse nature of business processes, full-blown careers in the IT BPM industry are available for most disciplines, and especially for business and IT graduates.

But the IT BPM industry continues to be hard pressed to meet the demand from its global partners even if the country’s annual pool of college graduates numbers around half a million. Ibpap’s own current data show that for every 100 applicants, only 7 to 10 are hired immediately. The rest—called near hires—usually need to strengthen their communication skills and other competencies.

The good news is that a continuing discourse is taking place in the IT BPM industry, the academe, and other education stakeholders precisely to improve the overall work suitability of our college graduates. For instance, the Commission on Higher Education’s CMO 6 and 34 prescribes the service management program (SMP) specialization track for business and information technology. SMP qualitatively improves student competencies through 21 units of electives that enrich the student’s grasp of business process management concepts and practices. A four-month internship with an IT BPM company enables the graduating student to make an informed personal assessment of aptitude and inclination. It also gives a potential employer ample time to determine his/her overall suitability to the job.

As CHEd’s partner in the IT BPM Growth Area Project, Ibpap has been spearheading SMP implementation for 17 state universities and colleges nationwide. Ibpap likewise conducts the Global Competitiveness Assessment Tool to help schools determine where the competency gaps are, as well as the Basic English Skills Training and the Advanced English for Pre-Employment Training to fortify the communication skills of both students and faculty.

All that, to make good on the promise of employability.

Butch Hernandez ([email protected]) is the executive director of the Eggie Apostol Foundation and education lead for talent development at Ibpap.