UP ISSI Participates in APO’s Conference on Youth Education and The Future of Work
A University Extension Specialist I from the Research Division of the Institute, attended the “Conference on Youth Education and The Future of Work” held from November 12 to 13, 2024 at the Crowne Plaza Galleria, Ortigas City.
The two-day event served as a platform for over a hundred of experts, policymakers, researchers, extension workers, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders in Asia to discuss trends, issues, and challenges in the labor market and strategies to equip the youth for a future-ready workforce.
On the first day, plenary presentations were delivered by Ms. Linartes M. Viloria, Senior Program Officer of the International Labor Organization and Dr. Lei Guo, Fellow from the School of Computing of National University of Singapore. Ms. Villoria shared about the regional trends of the labor market and youth in Asia and the Pacific, while Dr. Guo discussed lessons from machine learning which can be applied in developing a future-ready job market.
Parallel sessions on policy and governance, education and skills development, and innovation tools for youth employability were also conducted. During the session on governance, Mr. Patrick P. Patriwirawan, Jr., CESO III, Director IV of the Bureau of Local Employment, presented policy support for the Philippine workforce. For the session on education, Mr. Divinestar Dkhar, Project Lead for Education Youth and Skills Development, shared about the integration of foundational literacy and numeracy, science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) and the alternative learning spaces in India. During the same panel session, Dr. Guo, talked about the SkillsFuture Movement. Another session on innovation featured Dr. Donald Patrick L. Lim, Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Udenna Corporation and DITO CME Holdings, Inc. His lecture focused on youth survival in the digital era. This was followed by the sharing of approaches to thrive in a rapidly changing world by Mr. Jairaj Mashru, International Advisor, Global Creative Economy Council in India.
On the second day of the conference, Mr. Mashru delivered a lecture on future work scenarios. Right after his talk, participants were grouped per country and were asked to assess the readiness of the youth in meeting the demands of the future workforce in their respective countries. Sixteen delegates from the Philippines coming from academic institutions, national agencies, non-government organizations, and enterprises exchanged insights on the assigned question.
Teams from the Philippines and India presented the highlights of their discussion on this topic. The Philippine team stated that the Filipino youth can easily adapt to emerging technologies. Given this strength, they recommended integrating digital technologies in the academe and building the capacity of the education and business sectors in using these. They also suggested developing the youth’s soft skills through extracurricular activities, mentoring programs, and continuous education beyond the formal setting. The team also emphasized the need to address digital divide by ensuring equal access to digital technologies and internet connectivity among the youth.
The participants also visited the National Museum of the Philippines in Ermita, Manila where the foreign delegates got a glimpse of Philippine history and cultural heritage.
This learning opportunity was co-organized by the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) and the Development Academy of the Philippines. The APO is an intergovernmental organization which aims to increase productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.