Senator Joel Villanueva called for a shift in mindset from wage employment to self-employment for young graduates through the establishment of the Philippine Entrepreneurs Academy.
Villanueva made this call in his sponsorship of Senate Bill No. 2205 under Committee Report No. 585, creating the said academy that provides degree programs and training for entrepreneurship.
The chair of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, said that the academy “can be a catalyst for change” to spur growth in the country’s economy”.
“The Philippine Entrepreneurs Academy can help shift the mindset of young people from wage employment to self-employment.”
“The Philippine Entrepreneurs Academy can help shift the mindset of young people from wage employment to self-employment. It can also stimulate the establishment of high-value enterprises or MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) in the country,” the veteran legislator said in his speech.
“We see the academy facilitating the growth of MSMEs and Pinoy entrepreneurs that will invigorate our economy by creating jobs, new technologies, and increasing productivity,” the seasoned lawmaker added.
The senator said that MSMEs continue to be the backbone of our economy, making up 99 percent of businesses in the country, contributing to 25 percent of the country’s total exports, and employing roughly 2/3 of the total workforce.
The chair of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment said that the lockdowns during the current pandemic caused massive layoffs and downsizing, shifting traditional work into remote working.
“Filipinos have to think of more innovative ways of making a living in this pandemic. Some have resorted to becoming entrepreneurs and establishing businesses in the MSME sector,” he said.
Villanueva also said that current “new normal” trends and strict lockdowns led to enterprising Filipinos adopting digital services and starting online selling businesses.
He added that the pandemic has hastened digital transformation in the Philippines, as jobs are no longer tied to factories or offices and the workplace can be anywhere where there is internet connection and a smartphone or laptop.
“We need to nurture our future entrepreneurs and digipreneurs (digital entrepreneurs) for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the country. This Academy is an intervention that will help business-minded people capitalize on the opportunities that the new normal presents,” Villanueva stressed.
According to him, proper education, training and support can change the mindset of would-be entrepreneurs to see opportunities during times of hardship.
“With the Academy, we can help Filipinos create sustainable businesses for themselves and their families and provide employment opportunities for others.”
“With the Academy, we can help Filipinos create sustainable businesses for themselves and their families and provide employment opportunities for others,” Villanueva said.
The former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General cited the success stories from his former agency in the TESDA Specialista Technopreneurship Program as proof for the necessity of an entrepreneurship Academy.
“Mayroon po tayong Academy for sports, police, military, merchant marines, at iba pa. Napapanahon na ang pagtatatag ng Academy para naman sa mga Pinoy entrepreneurs,” he said.
The proposed measure establishes campuses that will provide degree programs, technical-vocational courses, and entrepreneurship development training in the fields of agriculture, trade, technology, and manufacturing.
These campuses, to be founded in Baguio City and Clark, Pampanga, will formalize and integrate programs and courses developed by TESDA, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, and other government agencies.
