ONLY two logical choices for 500,000 to 700,000 students who graduate from Philippine colleges and higher institutions every year: pursue further studies to earn additional qualifications to be more competitive when applying for a job, or join the Philippines’ labor force.
Those who go on to complete higher education remain in the unemployed or underemployed sector (including those who are working students). Graduates who take up masteral studies in the Philippines remain a hybrid kite/bird — mostly supported by parents, some by being self-employed.
Kites can fly only with strings attached, need someone to soar to a limited height. A bird can fly anywhere at any height. But freedom comes with responsibilities. Opportunities are fraught with challenges.
Based on the average per-hour wages posted by Canada’s Job Bank, graduates who pursue higher education in the Maple Nation are assured of being able to work an average of 24 hours a week, earning an equivalent of P20,114.80 more than what an administrative assistant is earning monthly in the Philippines.
Job Bank is Canada’s national employment service, helping Canadians find work and plan their careers, making it easier for employers to recruit and hire across the country. The Philippine equivalent is PhilJobs.net, the Philippine government’s official web-based labor market information, job search, matching and referral portal.
Since last week, PhilJobs.net has been out of commission (“undergoing system maintenance”), relying on Facebook to continue posting jobs and updates on employment opportunities.
Ms. Gabby Garcia, the country’s representative from Niagara College in Ontario, explained in a recent seminar at the University of Makati that their students can work 24 hours a week off campus, plus another 12 hours on-campus, or a total of a 36-hour workweek.
While the minimum wage in Ontario is $17.60 per hour, the total number of hours that a Filipino student enrolled in Niagara can work while studying offers a weekly salary of $633.60, which in Philippine peso is P27,614.80, more than what first-time registered nurses are paid here.
For these graduates/interns-turned international students, getting a world-class qualification and real-life workplace, and better earnings is an attractive option.
Worker warriors in PH labor force
Studying abroad, however, is not for everyone.
While the prospect of earning four times as much abroad instead of working at home is a sweet proposition, the real cost of getting a student visa is beyond reach to most.
The Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department of the House of Representatives (CPBRD) reported in February 2025 that “Filipino families earned an average of P353.200 in 2023, 15 percent up from P307.200 in 2021, which fell by 2.0 percent from their P313.500 in 2018.”
So, into the employment battlefield the student-turned-worker warrior must go.
Based on the current entry-level position salary, campus civilians must compete in the country’s job market with the 500,000 to 700,000 graduates from college and higher education institutions every year.
In an online webinar hosted by Assistant Secretary Divina Gracia del Prado on March 13, 2026, there were 6.35 million unemployed Filipinos in January 2026, up from the 5.81 million in October 2025 — or 539,000 more without work three months earlier.
These are numbers that have bedeviled the Philippine job market over the years. Of the almost 50 million Filipinos employed this year, 891,000 were college graduates.
Reasons for college grad joblessness
When asked for the reasons for the perennial unemployment cycle, del Prado conceded that natural calamities, foreign wars, and the repatriation of OFWs are recurring reasons.
Earlier, at the Unilab Education (UniEd) launched by former socio-economic planning secretary Cielito Habito, a glaring institutional factor came into play: jobs-skills mismatch.
“Many graduates struggle to find jobs that match their qualifications, while industries face shortages in skilled workers... graduates failed to meet employers’ expectations in critical thinking, initiative, effective communication and relevant experience.”
The unvarnished truth — the elephant in the room — is that the Philippine economy continuously fails to generate jobs for those seeking work.
In the comments section of the March 13 conference, many complained that employers are requiring experience for entry-level jobs. “How can we have experience if we are not given a chance to earn one?” was the common lament.
An attendee at the University of Makati seminar asked Ms. Garcia if Canadian employers are asking international students for experience. The answer was “No.” The job applicant must only prove that he/she is currently enrolled in an academic course, nothing else.
A major reason for the job-skills mismatch is the “herd mentality toward popular courses,” Mr. Habito said.
In 2023, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies predicted an oversupply of information technology graduates by 2025 (exceeding demand by 171,960 positions).
At the same time, there will still be shortages in other science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, including life and physical sciences, engineering and mathematics.
With an oversupply of IT grads, employers can afford to be selective and offer low salaries to job applicants.
Jobs vs careers
The seminar, titled “Careers Without Borders,” clarified the distinction between just having a job and planning a career.
A college graduate who gets hired for an administrative assistant job may remain for years in that position, especially if the employer has a low ceiling for advancement. The alternative is to move to another — bigger and more secure employer — with better chances of moving up.
Assuming a 300 percent increase in three years in the same position, that admin assistant could be earning P57,000!
The international student counterpart in Canada would have been immediately earning much more working full-time for at least a year after completing a two-year PGWP-eligible academic course.
PGWP — post-graduate work permit — allows an international student in Canada to work up to three years in any of the following fields of study: agriculture and agri-food, health care, science, technology, engineering and math, trade and transport.
The agriculture and services industries — trade and transport included — employed 81.7 percent of the labor force: the same sectors also exhibited the largest drop in employment this year.
The Indeed job-search portal posted average per-hour pay for administrative assistants in Canada at $22.58. The international student (now working full-time under PGWP) stands to earn $903.20/week, or $3,612.80 a month (P157,460), almost a year’s earnings for the admin assistant in the Philippines.
A bonus feature is the opportunity to qualify as a permanent resident in Canada under the Canadian Experience Class through Express Entry or be nominated by a province for permanent residency.
“Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to work we go,” the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney movie sing. A college graduate-worker-warrior may slightly change it to “It’s fly to work we go.”
