“The challenges and opportunities from the twin digital and green transitions are felt much more in the Philippines,” said Khalid Hassan, Director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines.

“Our focus is to ensure that training programs are accessible, especially for youth from low- to medium-skill backgrounds, who stand to benefit the most from these new job opportunities.”

Together with its partners, ILO is ramping up initiatives to ensure Filipino youth are not left behind, but instead positioned to benefit from new, higher-quality job opportunities.

At a DigiGreen construction skills partnership forum held on March 25, 2026 in Quezon City, government agencies, industry leaders, and training institutions aligned efforts to prepare young workers for a more technology-driven and environmentally sustainable construction landscape.

The urgency is clear. Construction, one of the country’s largest sources of employment, is rapidly evolving, with demand rising for workers who can navigate both digital tools and green building practices. Without targeted training, many risk being excluded from emerging roles.

Central to the initiative are two critical skill areas: Building Information Modeling (BIM) and green construction.

BIM—a digital system that enables more efficient design, planning, and management of buildings—is fast becoming a global industry standard. It is already required in large-scale projects in countries such as Korea, Singapore, and Dubai, signaling a shift toward higher productivity, cost efficiency, and reduced environmental impact.

“BIM and green construction skills are among the most important starting points for leveraging the digital and green transitions to improve youth employment in this sector,” said Hochul Shin, Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO/Korea Partnership Programme.

For young workers, acquiring these competencies can open doors to more specialized roles, better wages, and more stable career paths — moving beyond traditionally informal and precarious construction work.

To help bridge the gap between training and employment, the forum also marked the formal handover of learning modules to key Philippine institutions, including the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Construction Manpower Development Foundation (CMDF), and the Philippine Constructors Association (PCA).

The initiative forms part of the ILO/Korea Partnership Programme’s Advancing Digital and Green Skills for Youth in ASEAN project, aimed at future-proofing the region’s workforce amid rapid economic and environmental shifts.

These contrasts raise an uncomfortable but urgent question: When the future of work arrives faster than expected, who gets left behind?

That question matters now more than ever, as generative artificial intelligence (AI) begins to reshape work across the Philippines.

A new research brief by the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that more than one in four jobs or around 12.7 million in total are exposed to generative AI in the Philippines, the highest rate among ASEAN countries with comparable data. Exposure does not mean jobs will disappear overnight. Most will not. But many will change, sometimes quickly, sometimes painfully — demanding new skills, better protection, and deliberate policy choices.

What concerns me most is this: The shift is not gender-neutral.

The same ILO research shows that women in the Philippines face twice the rate of AI exposure as men, particularly young and educated women concentrated in clerical, administrative, and service roles — occupations that AI can automate or fundamentally transform. In regions such as Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon, where digital and business services dominate, women shoulder a disproportionate share of the risk.

Without targeted action, AI could widen existing inequalities, reinforcing barriers that women and young people already face due to poverty, informality, or conflict. Yet this outcome is not inevitable. The same technology can also be a powerful equalizer if we choose to govern it well.

I have seen this possibility firsthand. Through ILO programmes supported by development partners, women-led enterprises in Iloilo, Pampanga, and Siargao Island are using digital hubs, e-commerce platforms, and AI-enabled tools to grow their businesses, increase sales, and raise productivity.

Under our partnership with the Government of Japan, and now through the United Nations Joint Programme Digital PINAS. These women have shown something important: the real constraint is not talent, but access. Systems that fail to keep pace with change hold people back far more than technology ever could.

I am reminded of a young woman who once received an ILO-supported scholarship to study web development under a partnership with J.P. Morgan. With the right support, she built her skills, moved into robotic process automation, and today works as an automation developer in Europe. Her story is not exceptional — it is a clear example of what becomes possible when barriers are removed and pathways into STEM and digital careers are opened.

As a father to a daughter, these changes matter deeply to me. When a girl is given access to quality education, relevant skills, and decent work, she does not merely adapt to new technologies, she helps shape them. Yet for many girls in the Philippines, especially those growing up in poverty or conflict-affected areas, that future remains frustratingly out of reach.

This is why this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, with its focus on Synergizing AI, Social Science, STEM and Finance, is so timely. The future of work shaped by AI will not be inclusive by default. Inclusion must be designed through policy, investment, and social dialogue.

The ILO’s research points to clear priorities: investing in AI and digital skills for women and youth; embedding STEM pathways early in education; supporting workers through transitions; and financing women-led innovation and enterprises. Women and young people should not be treated merely as workers adapting to AI, but as innovators shaping how it is used.

If we want AI to create decent work rather than deepen divides, we must act now. The message from the ILO’s new research is clear: AI can raise productivity and job quality, but only if no one is left behind.

The future of work is being built today. The real question is whether we build it with inclusion, dignity, and social justice at its core or allow old inequalities to be hard-wired into new technologies.

Backed by the European Union and led by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the program was officially relaunched through the first Project Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting held on June 4 at the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in Manila. The meeting brought together government agencies, workers’ and employers’ groups, civil society organizations, and international partners to finalize a national work plan that will guide activities from 2025 to 2028.

“This program is a timely and strategic initiative that aligns with our national priorities to protect and empower our sea-based workers,” said DMW Assistant Secretary Jerome Pampolina in a statement delivered by Sea-Based Accreditation Bureau Director Augusto San Diego III.

Around 4,300 Filipino fishers are deployed each year to foreign fishing vessels, with many exposed to harsh working conditions, abusive employers, or exploitative recruiters. The Ship to Shore Rights program aims to change that by promoting ethical recruitment, access to legal aid, financial literacy, and reintegration support, while encouraging responsible business conduct among licensed manning agencies.

“The PAC will serve as a vital mechanism for ensuring that our work is grounded in the realities of those most affected—our migrant fishers and their communities,” said Khalid Hassan, ILO Country Director for the Philippines, of the program that is subtitled Safe Migration for Decent Work in the Blue Economy.

“Through inclusive dialogue and evidence-based policymaking, we aim to create safer, fairer, and more sustainable conditions for all workers,” Hassan added in a media release.

The Philippines is also looking to advance the ratification of the ILO’s Work in Fishing Convention No. 188, a global treaty ensuring fishers have decent conditions on board vessels—from minimum age and working hours to medical care, food, and accommodation. The Convention also provides a mechanism for foreign port inspections to ensure compliance.

The national work plan features four main pillars:

1. Regional cooperation on labor migration and inspection standards across ASEAN;
2. Legal and policy reform, including pushing for Convention 188 ratification and stronger recruitment regulations;
3. Responsible business conduct, through technical assistance to agencies and fair recruitment guidelines; and
4. Worker empowerment, by boosting access to support services and collective bargaining.

The ILO is implementing the program in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Locally, it works closely with the Licensed Manning Agencies for Fishers (LMAF) to ensure ethical deployment practices.

For Filipino workers and manning agencies alike, the relaunch marks a strong step forward in making overseas employment in the fisheries sector safer, fairer, and more sustainable.

The next PAC meeting is scheduled for June 2026.

“We are putting decent work at the very heart of our socio-economic policies. This will go beyond the six-year development agenda of the current administration. This will ensure that job creation is a priority, not just today but for generations to come,” said Senator Joel Villanueva at the launch of the plan. 

“More than just aspirational, this plan has mechanisms to align national agencies and local governments toward decent work as a central pillar of our socio-economic strategy,” he added.

Senator Villanueva highlighted the plan’s potential to shape a future where people have access to safe, decent, and secure jobs with living wage. Signed into law as Republic Act No. 11962, the plan reflects the country’s commitment to address employment challenges and foster labor market development. 

Anchored on the aspirations of AmBisyon Natin 2040, which is a long-term vision for the Philippines to guide the country’s development planning until 2040, the plan also responds to a labor market landscape shaped by rapid digitalization, geopolitical tensions, climate change, and demographic shifts.

“These evolving trends underscore the urgent need for adaptive policies that foster economic growth and offer essential support to Filipino workers as they navigate these evolving challenges,” said Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

“With our collective effort, we will create an inclusive, efficient, and dynamic labour market environment where Filipinos can access meaningful, quality jobs,” he added.

The plan aligns with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-28 and the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan 2023-28, serving as the Decent Work Country Program.

The plan is the result of extensive consultations and social dialogue through a multi-stakeholder and whole-of-society approach, involving representatives from the government, workers, employers, informal economy, marginalized and vulnerable groups, women, youth, education and training institutions, and development partners. They have collectively defined in the plan the future they want and do not want, as well as imagine the future of work.

“The Trabaho Para Sa Bayan Plan lays out comprehensive strategies to tackle key challenges in our labor market—from skills mismatch and youth unemployment to job security, digital and technological disruptions, labor migration and overseas Filipino workers’ reintegration, and all these while ensuring that our workforce remains resilient and ready for the future of work,” said Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma of the Department of Labor and Employment.

The launch held on 5 May 2025 in Manila also featured a session with development partners focused on ensuring decent work, just transitions, and inclusive development in the Philippines amidst a rapidly changing workplace.

Khalid Hassan, Director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines, recognized the Philippines for joining global initiatives to accelerate job creation and social protection, and its commitment to social justice. He was joined by representatives from the Asian Development Bank, the Australian Embassy in the Philippines, and the World Bank.

“We must ensure inclusivity and amplify the voices of informal economy workers. Without social dialogue, we will face significant challenges. We are confronting multiple, interconnected crises and deep-seated inequalities in societies, conflicts, and growing uncertainties. All the gains are at risk,” Director Hassan said.

“The status quo is unsustainable. We must move forward and achieve social justice to meet these challenges,” he added.

In a news release, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said it supported this initiative by providing technical assistance and resources for regional consultations and reviewing the plan.