MANILA — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday said it was looking at collaborating with the education sector to help workers adapt to the emergence of advanced technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace.

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DOLE Undersecretary Carmela Torres said they are hoping to ensure there is no skill mismatch by finding ways to upskill workers.

"Of course, ayaw natin maiwan sa global competitiveness. Kaya dapat rin, we should also make sure na aligned tayo yung ating policies sa AI but make sure that we are also competitive... May worker displacement but we would think puwede natin to upskill ang mga workers to make sure na hindi talaga sila mag-displace but upgrade 'yung skills nila," Torres said.

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Torres added, "Yung skills mismatch, kailangan din makipagtalakayan tayo at makipag-collaborate sa ating educational sector dahil may mga bagong skills. May mga bagong occupations. May mga bagong requirements ng ating businesses. So ano ang dapat magiging bagong kurso sa ating unibersidad?"

Meanwhile, Eros Zuñiga of the Safety Organization of the Philippines flagged the need to identify the psychosocial hazards that come with AI use.

"The introduction of digitalization and AI in various forms throughout the workplace may decrease the exposure of physical hazards but introduces more psychosocial hazards to job roles due to decrease of interpersonal interactions... Let's look at our own practices and our resources in managing psychosocial hazard at work," Zuniga said during DOLE's World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2025 event. 

Speaking to reporters, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the agency is already looking into this.

"Tinitingnan po nati kasi hindi lang naman 'yung alam natin-- hindi lang 'yung physical ang puwede maging epekto. Mayroon ding mental, 'di ba?" the DOLE chief said. 

Of the over 216,000 job vacancies in DOLE’s nationwide job fairs for Labor Day, none are AI-related jobs, according to Laguesma.

But citing a report by the World Economic Forum, Laguesma said they are also expecting plenty of jobs will be created due to technological advancement such as AI.

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