I have the honor of helping draft the Philippine Skills Framework on Software Development and Security. This is the project of the DICT, in partnership with the Philippine Software Industry Association and iBPAP. We are basing this on the great work that Anderson Tan developed over several years for the Singapore National Skills Framework. This project is led by Leo Santos of Thames International Business School. Other contributors from O&B are Adam Breen, Michaelle Tabilin & Juno Aliento.

Why the need for a skills framework?

For almost as long as I have been working, I have been hearing over and over again of the skills gap between industry and academe. My industry peers & I rant every year about never being able to fill all our requirements for high-paying IT jobs. Yet, we are forced to reject over 95% (by my own estimates) of applicants, because they don’t have the skills needed for the work we do.

Guidance for the Academe, Students & Parents

No student wants to struggle through four years of university only to be unable to find a job. Many universities reach out to industry to improve their curricula, but so far the advice from industry has been patchy, inconsistent, and usually biased towards whatever each company is doing.

The Skills Framework is a comprehensive and authoritative document that identifies the actual jobs available in the industry, and the skills needed to qualify. Universities will have a detailed guide on what to include in their curricula to make their graduates more employable. Students (and their parents) can make better decisions on which school to attend, and which degrees to pursue, as well as other skills that they should learn in addition to what their schools provide, to maximize their employability, as well as match their career choices with their inclinations and talents.

Guidance for Employers as Well

There have been many job posts recently looking for “DevOps Engineers”. DevOps is a practice done by a development team as a whole, not a specific role. The Philippine Skills Framework provides guidance to employer on more practical job descriptions. It also defines career pathways to guide employers on their promotion processes.

Compatibility with the World

The software industry is a global industry. The Philippine Skills framework is not a localization, but rather an alignment with the career pathways present in the best organizations in the world. It aims to provide equivalence for each role and level to similar roles and levels in other top performing technology organizations anywhere in the world.