In August, I attended the launch of Unilab Education (UniEd), the Unilab Group’s response to a longstanding national challenge: the mismatch between graduates’ skills and the available jobs.
At this event, attended by the Secretary of Education, the Director General of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Chair of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), industry leaders and heads of educational institutions discussed the need to reshape how education is delivered and ensure that Filipino graduates are job-ready.
In his keynote address, Dr. Cielito Habito, former Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA, recently renamed the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development or DEPDev under Republic Act No. 12145), delivered some disturbing statistics, including that college graduates now account for the single largest segment of the unemployed at 38.2%. He emphasized the need for integrated education and workforce development planning, closer coordination in curriculum design, and better anticipation of future skills demand.
Equally, if not more disturbing was the recurring observation that the concerned agencies, namely the Department of Education, TESDA and CHED, have not been properly coordinating. Simply put, until recently, they were not talking to each other. Fortunately, these agencies have come to the realization that closer inter-agency collaboration is required to achieve to stronger industry alignment and policies that improve graduate employability.
UniEd, for its part, is batting for industry certifications, microcredentialing [i.e., earning short, modular certifications for specific, in-demand skills, enabling workers to upskill, reskill, gain formal recognition for competencies, and advance in their careers without completing an entire degree or lengthy course], apprenticeship and on-the-job training, senior high school immersion, and skills-based continuing professional development courses to specifically address the jobs–skills mismatch.
An Ernst & Young paper entitled “Can ASEAN move forward if women are left behind?” observes that, with 40% of global employers today reporting talent shortage, education systems need to prepare graduates with relevant skills.
In ASEAN, the skills gap is largely marked by a shortage of technical knowledge. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is therefore particularly relevant given rapid technological shifts and the rise of industry automation, alongside the emphasis on infrastructure development in many emerging ASEAN economies.
In the Philippines, the skills gap is very much pronounced with the country having the lowest gender parity in the region. It records the widest STEM workforce gender gap in AsiaPacific, with women in just 36.3% of STEM roles, compared to nearly 59% in non-STEM fields. Although around 41% of STEM graduates are women, only 36.6% enter the STEM workforce within a year from graduation.
The decline continues as careers progress. Employers cite that women are less prepared due to fewer internships or technical opportunities. Many mid-career women opt out due to caregiving demands or biased perceptions.
Mining is one industry that would benefit from a closer look at how STEM Education may help close the jobs-skills mismatch, especially for women.
The convergence of mining and STEM offers unique opportunities to counteract gendered mismatches:
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Empowerment via technical training: Tailored STEM education programs could equip women miners with essential competencies to open pathways to formal, technical roles.
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From informality to formal inclusion: Launching bridging programs that connect women in small-scale mining to technical certification and STEM jobs can reduce informal vulnerabilities and prepare them for emerging green technologies in mining.
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Visibility and leadership: Mentorship programs and representation are required to boost women in the workforce. Highlighting female engineers, geologists, and other female leaders can inspire younger women to pursue both STEM and mining careers.
In the aforementioned Ernst & Young paper, Ambassador Delia Domingo Albert, Chairman of Diwata-Women in Resource Development, Inc., noted that “(T)here are horizontal gaps that consist of development gaps between and among the member countries, as well as gender equality gaps. There are also the vertical gaps between women who are well-educated and have better access to leadership roles and those who have fewer possibilities and are stymied by economic and social circumstances. These gaps hinder the possibilities for leadership roles.”
STEM Education may help close this vertical gap through, among others, better designed curricula to anticipate both current and future skills demands; targeted technical training; and more vibrant academe-industry exchanges [with teachers immersing themselves by working in firms to improve their own skills and ‘real world’ application of what is being taught].
STEM education is also the backbone of a responsible, sustainable, and competitive mining industry in the Philippines. It ensures that local talent can fill technical roles, reducing reliance on foreign experts, and also fosters innovation in exploration, extraction, safety, and sustainability.
With these institutional shifts, and reimagined narratives, we can create pathways where women not only participate, but thrive, in the mining and STEM sectors.
Patricia A. O. Bunye is the Managing Partner of Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia where she heads its Mining & Natural Resources Department and Energy practice group. She is also the Founding President of Diwata-Women in Resource Development, Inc., a non-government organization advocating the responsible development of the Philippines’ wealth in resources, principally through industries such as mining, oil and gas, quarrying, and other mineral resources from the earth for processing.
