Learning to Leave: Emigration, Employability, and Changing Universities
The question of how schools can prepare students for future work has long dominated public conversation, from international policy debates to teacher meetings within local classrooms. In this talk, Yasmin Ortiga tells a story of how this issue plays out in the Philippines, one of the largest source countries of migrant labour in the world. Based on findings from her research, Ortiga discusses how higher education institutions are expected to not only produce graduates for a domestic labour market, but also for potential employers beyond national borders. This attempt to educate Filipino youth for “export” creates serious problems for higher education, undermining the job security of college instructors, skewing local curriculum towards foreign requirements, and challenging efforts to develop academic programmes in line with local needs.
As more developing nations turn to migration as a development strategy, Ortiga’s work raises important questions on what role universities should play in today’s global economy. Co-panelists Kong Chong Ho and Yang Peidong contextualise such phenomenon in a world of increasingly diverse forms of emigration, and the role of places like the Philippines in shaping international mobilities.
PANELISTS
Department of Sociology, Singapore Management University
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Sociology and Research Leader of Asian Urbanisms, National University of Singapore
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Lecturer, Humanities and Social Studies Education Academic Group, National Institute of Education
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This event is presented by The HEAD Foundation, a Singapore-based think tank devoted to research and policy influence in education and leadership, for development in Asia.
Admission is free.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by the speaker in this talk are their own and do not represent the opinions of The HEAD Foundation.
