The government’s digital skills training program should not only be exclusive to young people but must also include senior citizens who are willing and still capable of being productive members of society.

Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara made the call as he renewed his push for the passage of the proposed National Digital Careers Act (Senate Bill No. 1469), which aims to promote the development of digital careers in the country and equip Filipino workers under the “new normal.”

“There are countries, like Sweden, that are training their senior citizens on digital skills. We have many people who retired early and are still capable of being productive,” Angara said.

“And the good thing with digital careers is that many of these do not require a full-time commitment. It’s at your pleasure, you work from home, so it’s a very ideal situation for different types of workers such as housewives, senior citizens and people looking for temporary work arrangements,” the senator pointed out.

Angara, during a Senate hearing of the committee on labor, employment and human resources development, reiterated the need for the immediate enactment of the bill promoting the development of digital careers in the country and equip Filipinos with the skills needed to adjust under a COVID-19 crisis.

Since a lot of businesses have shifted to online or digital platforms under the new normal, Angara said different agencies of government should come up with a “whole of government approach” needed to help the Filipino workforce secure the needed jobs amid the lockdown and quarantine protocols.

Due to the COVID-19 threat, the Senate finance committee chairpereson said the global economy rapidly changed and as a result, many traditional jobs available in the market are disappearing, paving the way for new jobs that require some basic technological know-how.

He said the role of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has now become more pronounced as the country needs the infrastructure needed to prepare the Filipino workforce to shift to digital careers.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has fast-tracked to shift to businesses and organizations to online and digital. A lot of Filipinos have lost their jobs due to retrenchments because businesses need to survive and they could no longer afford to operate on a business as usual basis,” he said.

“What was deemed essential before is no longer the case now so everyone of us must adjust to the new normal,” Angara reiterated.