Private companies speeding up digitalization in the workplace to provide better business solutions for clients participated in a webinar hosted by the UPLB Department of Economics (DE) on 20 November 2023.
More than 140 students, graduates, and professionals in Economics and related fields took part in the Zoom-based webinar with the theme “Future of Work: Digitalization in Post-Pandemic Philippines.”
The webinar is the first in a series of activities being held by DE in honor of the upcoming retirement of Associate Professor and former Department Chair Amelia L. Bello.
The speakers were Ms. Ehden Pelaez, Founder and CEO of Zbiz Solutions, Inc.; Ms. Danamaisie Resurreccion, Operations Manager for Market Data and Engineering of Infinit-O Philippines; Ms. Lucia Luna Manalo, Transformation and Systems Manager of One Stop Logistics Solutions, Inc.; and Mr. Jonas Marie Dumdum, Industry Solutions Consultant and lead of the Sustainability Service of Nomura Research Institute Singapore Manila Branch.
They shared how their respective companies are championing changes in their workplaces to adapt to the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and a post-pandemic world.
After the presentations, participants entered breakout sessions to allow for more specific discussions with each speaker, including possible matching of skills and qualifications with company employment demands.
It has been noted that at the heart of 4IR is the integration of new technologies with biological and physical structures. Paired with the impacts of the pandemic, 4IR has various implications across industries and economic activities even in developing countries like the Philippines. In the workforce, there may be changes in the needs and expectations of employers from job applicants and employees which our students and graduates may be interested in knowing more about.
DE Chair Dr. Gideon Carnaje acknowledged Assoc. Prof. Bello’s contributions to the Department in relation to the webinar theme by pointing out how she has mentored many students, now professionals, in the field of Development Economics and Human Resource Economics who are now themselves adapting to the fast-changing work landscape.
Assoc. Prof. Bello gave the closing remarks for the webinar. In her short speech, she expressed her delight that college students and graduates now have more career opportunities as compared to the choices that they had back then. Indeed, while uncertainties loom on the horizon amid the changes being brought by 4IR and the post-pandemic world, new rays of opportunities can be realized and seized in the future.
Written by: DE Seminar and Conference Committee
DE Seminar and Conference Committee Members: Richard B. Daite, Ma. Nova R. Nguyen, Kathlene Grace B. Ballena, Ma. Janda Ira Felina M. Benedictos, Veronica I. Castillo, Divine Krizza P. Cruz
