Looking Ahead, What Awaits Us by: Rionald Gonzales Date Posted: 08/04/2008 12:32 am

THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment’s Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) has these overwhelming figures accounting large number of unemployment rate in the Philippines last year.

BLES has shown some 1.052 million or 39.1 percent of the unemployed are the college graduates and undergraduate.

Today, while looking at our socioeconomic landscape, much is expected that the growth of unemployment level will continue to escalate due to another batch of graduates this year. However, are there still enough jobs to accommodate these fresh graduates? This question seems cyclical, never really addressed by the Philippine government.

Many colleges and universities in our country that cater thousands of students have been desperately striving to provide the best education as well as facilities to help mold each student’s better destiny. The schools and the students themselves apparently have done their part and exerted much effort to sustain our country’s wellbeing in accordance with this dog-eatsdog world but still our problems remain unbearable, irresistible.

Furthermore, it is depressing to behold how our parents work laboriously just to earn dough aiming to give their children brighter future after long years of struggle in education despite of impoverished state they are facing today. How much more on those students who are enrolled in paramedical courses whose tuition fees eat big chunks in every family budget and so they have to toil every means possible believing that their children could land better jobs because of such “prestigious” courses are on demand.

It is so much disappointing, however, when after graduation no opportunities can accommodate us and we could not help but to stay at home compile newspapers and read classified ads 24 hours a day, seven times a week.

We can say that one of the major factors why companies have to choose only limited number of employees qualified enough to be accepted is global competition. In such a competitive economy, a company would hire only those who possess high intelligence, better experiences and outstanding scholastic records. However, one must consider this profound truth that not all graduates are genius and cum laude! Fortunate enough those who are accepted with no hassles at all and so to speak those did not meet the said qualifications would still wait for another centuries to come until new slots will be available.

Deteriorating economy is another reason. Companies are such rat race in the global marketplace striving to gain more profits from competitive goods. Since our economy has become drowned of unpaid “greenbacks”, big establishments can no longer afford to increase wages and so they have to limit the number of their workers.

Frustrating, isn’t it?

The officials of the government have become deaf to the same issues suffered by Juan dela Cruz long before. In the news may it be televised or printed on newspapers, they would always show good signs of country’s widespread prosperity. Isn’t that ironic? Are they just joking? Indeed, they are just having illusions of the things that have never been realized.

Hey! Wake up. How could they say we are having prosperity where in fact more than millions of Filipinos are still waiting for waste foods thrown away in the trash cans of the elite class? Where is TheQuill 12 SY2007-2008 THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment’s Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) has these overwhelming figures accounting large number of unemployment rate in the Philippines last year. prosperity here? Oh, have mercy! Prosperity is not for us, “commons”. It is for them—the cream of society.

Now, where is the budget allocated for employment project go? No wonder, it has been already kept on their powerful and invisible pockets!

Here, employment has never been the top-most priority of the government. It is not always a guarantee that after graduation, there are many jobs that would cater all of us unless you are close to “Big Brothers”! Even when you take up on demand courses you still have to sleep for many years and eventually wake up and desperately accept jobs which do not fit in with your qualification. The very sad thing is our best graduates and good workers have migrated to other countries just to look for greener pastures.

We have seen the vivid picture of our future. What the government has been doing is slowly draining the country’s lifeblood and we are the lifeblood! Someday our country’s economic and social stability may weaken and surely will become in need of people and sharp increase in the nation’s work force.

The government must provide more band-aids to heal these crippling ills of our nation. They must have found better solutions to accommodate these unemployed graduates before it will triple next year. Let us cooperate and help one another to seek for possible means to solve the dilemma that shackles us for long varied years of our struggles.

This is the right moment. Think about it before it is too late. Think about it now before we are fully drowned in a sea of despair!