skyproject Skills development for workers in the global south

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Hot Issues of Skills Development

This page provides summaries of previous and relevant research on skills development.

SKY[Skills and Knowledge for Youth] home Hot Issues of Skills Development Industrial Park and Skills Development in the Philippine Context

Industrial Park and Skills Development in the Philippine Context Regina Salmasan
  • Partnerships between Government, Schools, Private Sectors and International Organization

In its endeavor to improve the skills development of workers in the global south, the SKY Project has started a collaboration with FIRST College (FIRST Industrial Science and Technology College, Inc., 2025), the educational institution under First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP), to create an effective game-based skills training program that is flexible and can be implemented within a limited time engagement to provide continuing education to the individuals working in various companies in the Philippines.

The Philippines has more than 70 industrial parks and special economic zones (SEZ), most of which are concentrated in the CALABARZON (specifically in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas), Central Luzon (specifically in Pampanga and Bataan), and Central Visayas regions (mostly in the island of Cebu). While the majority of these industrial parks and special economic zones are wholly owned by Filipinos, parks that are co-owned by foreign companies are also common. Most of the foreign companies are from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Indonesia, and America (PEZA, 2017; KMC Savills, 2022). The First Philippine Industrial Park in Batangas is one example of such an industrial park operating under a joint venture between the First Philippine Holdings and Sumitomo Corporation (Japan) with about 150 companies located inside the park providing about 70,000 jobs (First Philippine Industrial Park, 2025).

In the Philippines, most of the enterprises in industrial parks belong to the manufacturing, information technology, tourism, agro-industrial, medical tourism, and logistics and warehousing sectors (PEZA, 2025). Companies located within industrial parks usually have tax benefits and simpler customs procedures. Industrial parks also have an independent electrical grid which ensures stable operations without power outages, a stable water supply channel and wastewater treatment facility, fire protection, and security and maintenance systems. These benefits, resulting in lower production and operating costs, are designed to encourage more local and foreign investments, and in turn, provide many job opportunities for skilled individuals (KMC Savills, 2022; UNIDO, 2025).

To take advantage of these opportunities, the development of responsive technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and alignment of the curricula of higher education with the emerging demands in the labor market are included in the Philippine Development Plan for 2023-2028. With the emergence of various learning platforms, such as online courses or workshops, a certification program that recognizes learning from non-traditional platforms has also become a necessity (Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028).

While improving the curricula of the education system is essential, intervention programs should not stop at the level of higher education institutions. The constant change in the nature of the jobs that are available in an age of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) underscores the importance of continuing education both for rank-and-file employees and those in managerial positions. Reskilling or upskilling, especially in the safe use of AI technology, is important to thrive in the workplace. Since routine work is slowly being replaced by computers, having the ability to analyze large amounts of data and create innovative strategies to solve problems is one way to prevent redundancy at work. Emphasis is also placed on the need to harness soft skills or transversal skills, such as critical thinking, decision-making, emotional intelligence, creativity, adaptability, and communication skills, as these are important in any work setting and can withstand any career change (Schumacher, 2020).

Having established the effectiveness of the SKY project’s game-based training program for workers, the team is now working towards the implementation of a game-based training program for individuals at the managerial level. In the future, the SKY project also hopes to establish partnerships with other institutions in the global south.

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