ENGLISH communication remains the country’s weakest skill, prompting the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to call for urgent reforms to better prepare graduates for employment and national development.

Speaking at the Converge to ACHIEVE: The Higher Education Summit in Manila, CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said the skills gap has persisted despite reforms and innovations in higher education.

Agrupis urged schools, industries, and the government to align training with workforce needs, noting that many graduates struggle to find work while employers report talent shortages.

“Our weakest skill is soft skills, particularly English communication,” said Agrupis in a Philstar report.

Agrupis said CHED is working with the Presidential Communications Office on a micro-credential program to strengthen purposive communication among students, professionals, and government workers.

The CHED top officia r also pointed to systemic challenges holding back higher education, including funding gaps, outdated curricula, inequitable access, and fragmented data.

She warned that graduates risk being left behind in a rapidly changing economy if these issues remain unaddressed.(Xienderlyn Trinidad, USJ-R Comm Intern)

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• #Commission on Higher Education
• #CHED
• #Shirley Agrupis
• #Converge to ACHIEVE Summit
• #English communication skills
• #soft skills
• #higher education reforms
• #graduate employability
• #workforce readiness
• #talent shortages
• #purposive communication
• #micro-credentia