MANILA, Philippines — Many Filipino students and jobseekers still require additional training to become employable, a study showed.

The Philippine Talent Map Initiative indicated that 31.7 percent or 18,928 of the total of almost 90,000 respondents needed further training.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) conducted the study along with private companies to examine the current trends and issues facing academe and the industry in terms of workforce development.

According to DOLE, the study is meant to address the prevailing problem of the job and skills mismatch in the country by identifying talent, skills and training needed by the Filipino workforce.

The findings also revealed that 68.3 percent of the students, employed, unemployed and trainees involved in the study are employable with English language functional skills as top competency.

Creative problem solving is consistently the lower skill among the respondents and must be improved, along with innovation and decision making skills.

DOLE said the results of the study would be presented to the Commission on Higher Education, Department of Education and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

“(The) results of the study shall serve as basis for our policymakers to create and fund relevant laws or initiatives that can bridge the workforce skills gap and support curriculum development,” DOLE said.

Earlier, DOLE released the Labor Market Information (LMI) Report 2022 enumerating the industries that will create jobs and skills.