On October 17, GPCCI’s Executive Director, Dr. Martin Henkelmann, took to the stage during the 45th Philippine Business Conference as one of the speakers to explore the topic of Leveraging New Technologies, Creating a Competitive Edge. In front of close to 800 representatives from local chambers and business leaders throughout the Philippines, Henkelmann stressed the importance of Technical-Vocational Education to help companies keep up with the fast changes brought about by the 4th Industrial Revolution. “It’s no longer that the big eat the small,” Henkelmann said. “Today, the fast eat the slow,” he concluded. To keep up with the fast pace, it needs a modern technical-vocational training system to identify the skills, qualifications, and competencies that define the jobs of the future and allow lifelong learning on the job. In the past ten years, Germany’s institutionalized cooperation between the industry, academia, and respective government agencies has led to more than 40 percent of the 326 officially recognized occupational profiles to be modernized or newly introduced. While still in its infancy, Henkelmann considers the K to 12 Basic Education Reform a step into the right direction for an enhanced industry involvement in future skills identification but also skills development, similar to the Technical-Vocational Training model in Germany. A skilled workforce will give the Philippines a competitive edge to attract foreign investment and help create more and higher-value jobs.
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23/10/2019