Social Value of Self Employment

“In the urban areas, there is a need to increase the supply of self-employed industrial workers like electricians, plumbers, masons, carpenters, mechanics, butchers, etc.  In addition to their plying their trade as individuals, some of them can also be the founders of small businesses that can evolve into at least medium-sized service centers.  To improve the supply of these individual service workers, educators should work with parents to remove the bias against manual work that is prevalent among the   middle class and even among the poor households.  As I have written repeatedly, more and more of our high school graduates, especially in the K to 12 curriculum, must be convinced that they can be more gainfully employed in these blue-collar occupations than if they were to pursue college degrees that do not equip them with the skills that are in great demand in an industrializing and urbanizing society.  Many of those who take general courses in business administration, health sciences and liberal arts would have greater chances of employment with higher wages if they are convinced to enroll in such TESDA-approved technical schools like  the Meralco Foundation and Dualtech in Manila or the Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE) in Cebu.”

Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/social-value-of-self-employment/#fZOFWvtMmQIDQscX.99

by Bernardo M. Villegas
Manila Bulletin, November 2, 2014