This study analyzes the phenomenon of job mismatch in the Philippine labor market and draws implications for Korea–Philippines cooperation in vocational training. Labor markets in developing countries are commonly characterized by a shortage of quality jobs relative to population size and a high share of informal economic activity—imbalances between labor supply and demand that stem from delayed industrial development. Job mismatch is a particularly widespread feature of these markets, with vertical and horizontal mismatches arising frequently from shortages of skilled labor, overqualification, and insufficient technical competence. While the limited technical capacity of workers on the supply side contributes to this outcome, more fundamental drivers also intensify mismatch: a lack of information about industries and labor markets, the concentration of jobs in major cities, and the difficulty of verifying job seekers' technical skills or knowledge. Among Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines stands out for a high incidence of mismatch driven by overqualification, as well as pronounced regional imbalances in the distribution of firms and jobs. Against this backdrop, this study examines cases of job mismatch in the Philippines and investigates how firms and workers perceive the level of mismatch, with the aim of informing Korea–Philippines development cooperation in vocational training.

The study first reviews the state of job mismatch across developing countries, drawing on International Labor Organization (ILO) data on mismatch in low- and lower-middle-income countries and OECD data on the skill profiles of major Southeast Asian economies, in order to identify the labor market challenges the region faces. Southeast Asia generally exhibits lower educational access than OECD countries, and correspondingly lower access to higher education and lower levels of technical proficiency. Unlike other regional countries such as Vietnam, whose education levels are relatively high, countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia show comparatively low technical skill levels among youth and lower rates of labor market participation. A notable exception is the provision of employer-sponsored vocational training: firms in the region offer such programs at levels that compare favorably even with OECD countries. Yet despite this provision, the region—and the Philippines in particular—remains relatively behind in technical competence and digital skill use, which suggests there is meaningful room to improve the effectiveness and outcomes of vocational training programs in the country.

Focusing on the Philippines, the study analyzes the structure of the labor market and examines cases of job mismatch on both the supply and demand sides. Workers with primary-level education are concentrated in relatively labor-intensive industries—agriculture, forestry and fishing; mining and quarrying; construction; and water, sewerage, and waste management—while those with secondary education are primarily employed in manufacturing and in transport and storage. Notably, the wage gap between primary-educated and secondary-educated groups is not statistically significant; sizeable wage differentials emerge only from the tertiary-educated group (associate degree and above) onward. This pattern can be interpreted in two ways: either there is little difference in skill levels or job quality within the primary- and secondary-educated workforce, or the Philippine industrial structure does not demand differentiated skill levels by education for groups below the tertiary level. Consistent with prior research, this is a key factor behind the prominence of vertical job mismatch in the Philippines.

To analyze mismatch on the supply and demand sides, the study conducted a survey of firms participating in the second phase of SUN Ph (SkillsUpNetwork Philippines), a vocational training support program of the Asian Development Bank, covering 64 firms and 451 workers. On the supply side, vertical mismatch experienced by workers is most pronounced among medium-skilled groups. Whereas high-skilled workers tend to be assigned roles commensurate with their educational level, medium- and upper-medium-skilled groups show relatively high shares of both underqualification, where the worker’s qualifications fall short of the job's requirements, and overqualification, where educational attainment exceeds the level the job demands. In addition, more than 30 percent of respondents reported experiencing horizontal mismatch, indicating gaps between the specific skills workers hold and the skills their actual jobs require.

On the demand side, firms display a preference for highly educated labor even where the nature of the job does not require tertiary education, indicating that they perceive higher educational attainment as a proxy for higher skill. At the same time, this preference may partly reflect a real problem: the technical level of secondary-education graduates falls below what jobs require. In other words, although the jobs themselves could be performed adequately by workers with primary or secondary education, the actual technical capacity of those hired is insufficient, leading firms to favor more highly educated candidates. A related finding concerns who receives training: firm-provided vocational training tends to be allocated not to workers who need skill development or capacity building, but to those who have contributed to the firm’s performance or who are related to management. This suggests that Philippine firms view vocational training less as a platform for skill development and more as a form of perk or benefit, which underscores the need to strengthen workers’ technical capacity in the Philippines by improving the quality of public vocational training programs.

Based on this analysis, the study proposes three avenues for Korea–Philippines cooperation. The first is to strengthen industrial cooperation in sectors with high demand for highly skilled and highly educated technical workers. The second is to develop joint vocational training programs and establish training institutions for sectors with high demand for lower-skilled and lower-educated technical workers. The third is to develop skill-tiered curricula and operate training programs that deliver tangible outcomes, extending this approach to labor-intensive industries such as agriculture.

국문요약

제1장 서론
1. 연구 배경과 목적
2. 선행연구 및 차별성

제2장 개발도상국의 직무-역량 불일치와 노동 생산성
1. 개발도상국 내 직무 불일치 현황
2. 직무-역량 불일치의 영향
3. 필리핀 노동시장의 구조와 직무 불일치 가능성

제3장 필리핀 사례 분석
1. 노동 공급 측면 분석
2. 노동 수요 측면 분석 결과

제4장 정책 시사점
1. 연구 요약
2. 한-필리핀 협력 시사점

참고문헌

Executive Summary