Fresh graduates experienced difficulties securing jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a study by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has found. 

In its Human Rights Situation Report–School to Work Transition 2022, the CHR said that since many companies were forced to shut down, downsize, or freeze hiring because of the health crisis, “more fresh graduates found it more difficult to be employed due to the limited opportunities available.”

As a result, it took longer for fresh graduates to get employed during the pandemic. 

“Based on the data gathered from hirers, which are mostly BPO companies, an employer participant compares that unlike in the pre-pandemic period, when it [took] 30 to 90 days for fresh graduates to find a job, nowadays, it takes three to six months, on average, for them to get hired. This is due to the limited openings and infrastructure of the hirer and job seeker for a work-from-home setup,” the report said. 

The CHR situation report looked into the school-to-work transition of students affected by virtual learning and found that various reasons led to their difficulty in finding jobs or keeping themselves in a job.

The study found that students essentially lacked the abilities and competencies required in the workplace as a result of the sudden move to digital learning.

Primarily, the lack of available devices for virtual learning and the quick adaptation to online modalities led to students’ low class participation, which greatly affected their ability to work. 

According to the study, students “could not participate in the online classes because they had no means as well, nor did they have their own devices and gadgets to join in their classes online.” 

Practicums were likewise done virtually, so the learning experience for students became less immersive. 

Apart from online learning, the study also found that juggling school, work, and other errands was tough for students. 

The mental and general health of the students, as well as that of their families, were also affected by the pandemic.

“As students were forced to stay at home, it affected their own mental health, but they were also concerned [with] and directly affected by the well-being and general health of those in their households,” the CHR said.

New grads lack ‘soft skills,’ are ‘vulnerable to scams’ 

The study said that new graduates experienced “culture shock upon entering the workplace” because “their expectations differ from what they were taught at school.” 

And since some of them fail to adjust to their work, they “decide to resign but have a hard time being hired again,” the CHR said. 

Moreover, an employer participant shared that the primary issues observed among the first two years of K to 12 graduates were related to “communication skills, working as a team, and critical thinking,” it added. 

According to investopedia.com, soft skills are character traits and interpersonal skills that support the pursuit of relational and organizational goals. 

The CHR also noted that new graduates were “highly vulnerable to scams and fake job postings.”

It lamented that “no one, including the government and its agencies, monitors and checks these online job platforms, making job seekers, especially first-time applicants and new graduates, vulnerable to being scammed and led by fake job postings.” 

The study also noted the new graduates’ lack of job readiness and tendency to miss their scheduled interviews. 

“One concern of those who graduated during the pandemic was that all their on-the-job training was done online, and many of the skills they had learned online could not be translated into actual practice,” it said. 

In addition, job applications can be “costly” for new graduates, despite the government having waived fees for documentary requirements, the CHR said. 

This is because “other expenses such as transportation costs and, even at times, fees for medical or health requirements required for the job that are not covered or reimbursed by the employer pose an additional burden to them,” it said. 

For this study, the CHR conducted virtual focus group discussions (FGDs) with representatives of five different sectors: national organizations and local government units; civil society organizations and advocacy groups; employers; teachers, school administrators, and principals; and youth.

The CHR’s Economic, Social, and Cultural Center prepared the report, which was adopted by the agency’s commissioners on February 13, 2023.