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The PHILIPPINES needs to upgrade its technical and vocational education to offset the expected loss of 24% of jobs in the business process outsourcing (BPO) and electronics manufacturing industries by 2030, due to increased automation, said the Asian Development Bank. (ADB).
In a study evaluating the information technology business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) and electronics manufacturing sectors, the ADB concluded that significant job losses are occurring, but could lead to creation of new and highly skilled jobs.
Automation in the IT-BPO sector will have a greater impact on male employees, with around 151,000 male workers expected to be displaced, versus 135,000 female employees losing their jobs.
Meanwhile, 97,000 women are likely to be laid off in the electronics manufacturing industry against 77,000 men.
Despite the projected layoffs, the ADB said productivity in the two sectors will improve dramatically, with more than half of surveyed employers in those two sectors seeing productivity growth of more than 25% by 2030.
Time spent on analytical and non-routine tasks is expected to increase by 13.3%, while time spent on routine tasks will decrease by a similar proportion by 2030. This will make skills such as critical thinking and adaptive learning written and verbal communication, arithmetic, management and more critical socialization.
“To support those most at risk of job displacement, we must seek new approaches to strengthen inclusion and social protection in the context of (the fourth industrial revolution), to ensure that no one is left behind in the new economy,” ADB Philippines Country Director Kelly Bird said in a statement Wednesday.
The ADB said that new jobs will emerge as technologies increase productivity, efficiency and competition, but workers’ skills will need to be dramatically improved. Such a scenario may even result in positive net employment as the new jobs created offset the jobs lost.
“These will not materialize if there is a lack of adequate skills in the local workforce to support them. In summary, the Philippines’ approach to skills development will be critical to achieving a positive 4IR-related labor market outcome in this industry, ”according to the report,“ Reaping the Benefits of Industry 4.0 through Skills Development in Philippines ”.
It was estimated that 14.2 million more people will need to receive further training by 2030, 14.2 million from the IT-BPO industry and 7.5 million from the electronics manufacturing sector. Most of the training requirements to improve your skills will come from on-the-job training and the remainder from short professional courses and longer periods of formal training. – Beatrice M. Laforga
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