𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑?

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑?

A diploma is supposed to open doors, not leave graduates stranded at the threshold of opportunity.

‎Unemployment occurs when newly graduated students who want to work are unable to find a job. The numbers do not lie. Though the Philippine Statistics Authority proudly reports that the overall unemployment rate fell to just 3.7% this year, the reality for our college graduates is the opposite. According to CHED, unemployment among degree holders rose by 2.6 percentage points from December 2024 to June 2025.

This means that the most educated sector of our employees struggles the most. A diploma, once considered the surest ticket to stability, is no longer a guarantee of employment. Many graduates find themselves in a strange and frustrating position where they’ve invested years of hard work, money, and effort to go to school and study hard, only to face uncertainty and a lack of opportunities. For them, the question isn’t just about getting a job—it’s about finding a job where their education, skills, and dreams can truly matter.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗨𝗡𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘

One fist-clenching reason why many fresh graduates in the Philippines struggle to find employment is because companies now require one to five years of experience from an applicant. Mostly, their defense is that in today's progressively competitive industry, businesses and corporations are hungry for individuals who possess practical skills, can apply them in a real work setting, have a more realistic understanding of day-to-day work life, can better align with job realities, and own crucial soft skills like teamwork and communication—in order for their firms to rise up the charts and stand above the rest.

And while the reasons for these high standards are understandable, for fresh graduates, this is a hurdle in their search for jobs as they still have no exposure to the actual work field. Even if they've acquired solid knowledge from their academic terms, competitive academic records, and good on-the-job training history, most employers still wouldn't bat an eye. Because of this, most graduates aren’t even given a chance to show their potential. This is also significantly demoralizing, as instead of feeling welcomed by the industry and motivated that they will be trained by it as players, they instead feel a scarce level of confidence that they would be allowed to explore their potential for work experience.

𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝗕𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦

Another frustrating factor as to why new graduates grapple with the aggravating employment barricade is that most companies in the country require you to have a "backer" or an inside connection. In basic terms, what this means is that you may have a diploma, loads of academic tutelage, sufficient amounts of advanced training, and vast knowledge of your field, and still they wouldn't let you in because you're an outsider to their organization—in a sense that you don't have the professional experience they require. This would demand that you find someone who would explain you and your credentials to these aristocrats like a thesis defense.

Yes, the "backer" option provides an opportunity for many fresh graduates in case they don't meet the experience or credentials warranted by the companies they're applying to. These job seekers are lucky enough to find individuals who would assert their current skills and field experiences to these organizations. But this is when inequality comes into play. How about those applicants who couldn’t be fortunate enough to miraculously find a friend of a friend of a friend who can justify them? They wouldn’t be able to accomplish the employment they’re rooting for. This requirement proves there is a broad inequality in job opportunities, which slams the door shut on you if you don't possess such inside connections.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗠

Another factor worsening unemployment is the obsession with credentials. Many companies, even for simple jobs in retail, customer service, or clerical work, require a college degree as if these jobs really need years of study. A diploma can show certain qualities, but it is not the main proof of skill for these kinds of work. The truth is, some employers just don’t want to spend on training, so they use a degree as an easy filter. Because of this, many capable people are left out, while degree holders end up in jobs that do not even match their studies.

Worse, the pay in these jobs is often very low compared to the high requirements they ask. Instead of valuing education for what it really means, many companies treat a degree like a checklist—leaving graduates underemployed and non-graduates jobless.

Many graduates who managed to find jobs are still underemployed. They end up taking positions in retail, clerical work, or service industries—jobs that do not require a college degree—simply to make ends meet. This silent struggle not only wastes their hard-earned skills and knowledge but also deprives the country of the ideas, skills, and contributions that educated young professionals could bring. The mismatch between their potential and available work also affects mental health, leading to stress, anxiety, or even depression. Underemployment, then, is not just a personal struggle—it is a societal issue that quietly builds the country’s future.

The problem cannot be pinned on graduates alone. There are not enough good jobs in our industries, and programs that connect schools with companies are often weak or not well managed. Many areas in the provinces do not have enough opportunities, so graduates are forced to move to crowded cities or even go abroad. New technology and automation are changing the kind of work available, but there are few programs to help young people learn new skills. Graduate unemployment is not just a short-term problem—it shows that the country’s systems need serious changes to give young people a real chance at work.

If ignored, this problem will waste our youth’s dreams and slow the country’s progress. Many Filipinos leave our country to work abroad because opportunities here remain short, and as long as our country does not provide enough stable jobs, we will keep losing our best talents—and our future. Unemployment among individuals who seek opportunities to gain field experience is a growing crisis that demands urgent action.

There needs to be an act that will prohibit all companies, firms, businesses, and corporations in the country from requiring more than zero to one year of prior work experience, demanding personal "backers," and disqualifying excessively high academic credentials such as master’s degrees or doctorate degrees unless the job truly requires advanced specialization as certified by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), for entry-level applicants.

The saying goes that the youth is the future of the country. And they obviously cannot be, if it's their own country that's shutting them down. 

✍: Bloom Rich, Social Media Manager

🖼: Cymel Villanueva, Editorial Writer