E-ACCES 2G (Easy Access to Commerce, College, Entrepreneurship through Sustainable Services to K to 12 Senior High Graduates )
Republic Act 10533 Section 2B states the state shall create a functional basic education system that will broaden the goals of college preparation, vocational and technical opportunities, entrepreneurial employment in a rapidly changing globalized environment thus, a senior high school program came into existence. It’s been eight years since the implementation of the program. It has produced more than 3. 6 millions of graduates in three batches in 2018, 2020, and 2022 respectively. The Philippine Institute of Development Studies ( PIDS ) Discussion Paper Series No. 2020-40 entitled on the Employability of the Senior High School Graduates: Evidence from the Labor Force released in December 2020 confirmed the results only a small proportion (a little over 20%) enter the labor force and most of them (more than 70 percent) continue with their education. This is affirmed by Philippine Business for Education 2020 (PBED) that only 20% of the 70 leading companies in the Philippines were inclined to hire senior high graduates, preferring college graduates or those with at least two years of college education. In 2019 and 2020, the Bureau of Curriculum Development (BCD) conducted a National SHS Tracer Study, which aimed at determining the curriculum exits (on trabaho, negosyo and kolehiyo) taken by learners after having graduated from the senior high school ,majority of 82.67% of the graduates pursued higher education while 10.22% got employed. Only a small percentage engaged in entrepreneurship (1.30%) and middle-level skills development (0.42%). 5.39 % of the graduates did not pursue any of the exits after SHS graduation. This study is reported in the Basic Education Report 2023 of Vice President and DepEd Secretary Atty.Sarah D. Zimmerman .
Support mechanisms have been installed such as integration of K to 12 qualifications in the Civil Service Commission (CSC) qualification standards to better improve the employability of K to 12 graduate in the government sector. PBED expressed its commitment to convince private business and industry companies to open their doors to K to 12 students and graduates through work immersion and employment opportunities. The Office of the Undersecretary for Administration (OUA), in collaboration with the Curriculum and Instruction (CI) Strand, is spearheading a project in support of the K to 12 program, to better prepare learners to be more work-ready. However, the gaps still exist in the employability and entrepreneurship and a promise for trabaho and negosyo remains a promise (Basic Education Report 2023 ) . Challenged by the prevailing situation and mediating a way to make a promise turn into reality we, the innovators conceptualized and established Project: E-ACCES 2-G ( Easy Access to Commerce, College, Entrepreneurship through Sustainable Services to K to 12 Senior High Graduates ). Project E-ACESS 2-G acts as a support system and a complete package in materializing the goal of K to 12 which is developing life long learner ready for trabaho, negosyo and kolehiyo . It also aims to develop a well informed senior high graduates with better opportunities as they enter into the world of work and business life. With E-ACESS 2-G no graduate is left behind and every graduate is a Mangkasanon champion ready to face the globally competitive world.