“The Bicolano youth possess various digital career skills but lack the opportunity to put them into practice”, according to the regionwide digital career skills survey report of the iLab ARAL Inc. and YSEALI-Bicol Hub as part of its KA-HUSAY-AN Program.

The report was presented during the program launch on June 16, 2024 at the Robinsons Place Naga City. The KA-HUSAY-AN, or the “Kabaatang Husay sa Bayan”, is a Youth Digital Career Skills Development Program that aims to boost the career prospects of the Bicolano youth to address youth unemployment and underemployment by providing comprehensive training sessions that meet personal and community needs.

Youth from Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, and the islands of Catanduanes and Masbate responded to the survey rolled-out from May 11 to June 8, 2024. The profiles, digital knowledge and skills, and preferred training implementation were inquired about in the survey to elaborate on the training capabilities of the youth respondents. The Bicolano youth respondents' digital career skills and training needs were analyzed for the designing of relevant and appropriate training sessions. The most interested respondents in upskilling their abilities for a digital career were those aged 20 to 25, women (including women-at-risk), students, and the unemployed or underemployed. The survey also captured data from people with disabilities, out-of-school youth, young entrepreneurs, and educators.

The digital skills survey consisted of closed and open-type questions, multiple-choice questions, a checklist, and a Likert scale. It is structured into several sections: 1) Profile of the Respondent; 2) Digital Knowledge and Skills; and 3) Preferred Training Implementation. Beginning with an informed consent section, the survey outlines its objectives and the overarching goals of the KA-HUSAY-AN program. Participants were asked to confirm their eligibility and consent to participate. Meanwhile, the profile of the respondent section collects personal information such as age, gender, educational background, and current residency within the Bicol Region. It also gathers data on employment status, disability status, and whether the respondent belongs to groups like women-at-risk, young entrepreneurs, or young educators.

The 6-point Likert scale self-assessment survey consisted of 65 indicators about common work and life activities patterned to the 10 themes of the program, such as digital literacy fundamentals, coding and programming, digital marketing and social media management, remote work and collaboration tools, cybersecurity, emerging technologies and trends, digital entrepreneurship and finance, and professional development and career planning. The respondents used the six scales to rate their confidence levels in performing various digital tasks: (1) no knowledge and interest in learning the skills, (2) no knowledge but interested in learning, (3) has limited knowledge, (4) has moderate knowledge and rarely apply the skill, (5) has the ability to perform the skills, and (6) has confidence in the skill.

Generally, the Bicolano youth has emerging skills in the following digital career themes: 1) Professional Development and Career Planning, 2) Data Analytics and Visualization, 3) Content Creation and Multi-media Production, 4) Cybersecurity, 5) Coding and Programming, 6) Digital Marketing and Social Media Management, and 7) Emerging Technologies and Trends. The KA-HUSAY-AN Program will focus on these significant themes in the upcoming training sessions from June to December 2024. Still, it will also consider topics under Digital Literacy Fundamentals, Digital Entrepreneurship and Finance, and Remote Work and Collaboration Tools, in which the Bicolano youth excelled proficiently.

Albay youth respondents showed notable results by demonstrating skills in all digital themes. Meanwhile, Catanduanes youth respondents have mixed levels of digital career skills in emergent, proficient, and skilled categories. They particularly have emerging skills in Content Creation and Multi-media Production, Cybersecurity, and Emerging Technologies and Trends.

Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon youth respondents commonly showed proficiency in Digital Literacy Fundamentals and Remote Work and Collaboration Tools. Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur youth respondents exhibited the most emergent skills in 7 different digital career themes compared to Sorsogon youth respondents with 7 proficient digital career skills.

Youth respondents from the island of Masbate have emergent skills in Digital Entrepreneurship and Finance and are interested in learning the rest of the digital career themes. Their interest in upskilling for digital careers is a good note for developing a growth mindset among youth.

The survey has some limitations so the results may not be generalized. The unequal representation of respondents from different provinces was due to varying levels of respondent willingness and the reach of the survey's social media posts. Only small-scale respondents met the inclusion criteria for the survey. Moreover, the survey may be subjected to biases as it was self-reported by respondents, and there could be an overestimation or underestimation of skills and preferences.

The Bicolano youth’s determination and enthusiasm to learn were also present when most preferred to join onsite and hybrid sessions, as they commonly have no learning spaces at home, limited Internet access, and use their smartphones. Online training sessions will still be implemented, considering the devices and platforms easily accessible to the youth respondents.

With these survey findings, iLab ARAL, Inc. believes in the imperativeness of equipping Bicolano youth with the necessary digital career skills to prepare them for the digitalized era and future ventures.

If you are interested to know more about the KA-HUSAY-AN Program and join the digital career skills training session, visit our website at www.ilabaral.org and be one to amplify youth futures together “para sa kahusayan ng kabataang Pilipino.”

READ MORE ABOUT THE REPORT HERE: https://www.ilabaral.org/resources/publications/dgs-report