EMPLOYERS in the Philippines described their top priorities for their workforces as restructuring and reskilling to be better prepared for any changes that may be brought about by the pandemic, consulting firm Mercer said.
In a statement Tuesday, Mercer said the findings were contained in the first Philippine edition of its Global Talent Trends 2021 report.
Mercer said the pandemic has “spurred employers in the Philippines to focus on workforce restructuring (47%) and active reskilling in 2021 (35%) in order to future-ready their business and workforce.”
Mercer added that 62% of companies plan to revive their employees’ flexibility at work while 58% plan to upskill targeted talent pools.
The report said while 61% of employers are in the process of identifying new skills that they need for post-pandemic conditions, only 23% implemented actual “skill-based talent strategies” to improve worker skills.
Mercer’s Career Business Leader for the Philippines Floriza Molon said companies are slowly adopting more flexible business models to make their workforces competitive.
“Looking at work and people through a skills lens will be critical going forward as it enables companies to act quickly and flexibly in the face of disruption. Deciding whether to buy or develop a skill in-house, for example, depends on knowing what skills you have in your organization today and what you need in future,” she said.
Ms. Molon added only one in 10 companies plan to reward skills acquisition which she called an area of improvement for Philippine companies. — Gillian M. Cortez