The Higher Education and Productivity (HEP) Project is a three-year, Php61.5 million ($1.5 million) activity that improves the alignment of industry needs with education outcomes and strengthens industry-academe linkages. The project aims to address the skills gap and mismatch, and supply the necessary human resources to support accelerated, broad-based and inclusive growth.

HEP is a USAID/Philippines project under the Partnership for Growth (PFG), a White House initiative. The PFG represents a partnership between the Philippines and the United States to promote broad-based and inclusive growth. The U.S. Government is working with the Government of the Philippines, the private sector and civil society organization to help put the Philippines on an accelerated growth trajectory that benefits the majority of its population.

ACTIVITIES
To catalyze and strengthen industry-academe partnerships, the activity uses a program of engagement that (1) increases transparency in higher education and labor market information, (2) increases industry participation in curriculum design, faculty development, and quality assurance, (3) strengthens functional linkages between academe, industry, and government, and (4) improves regulatory quality of higher education.

To ensure sustainability of industry-academe partnerships, HEP works with high-level representatives of industry, associations of higher education providers, national government agencies, and local government units. HEP funds continuing national and local stakeholder dialogue, industry needs analysis for human resource planning, career advocacy, studies on industry accreditation models, and research on higher education governance.

HEP also works closely with other USAID PFG projects such as the Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for Development program, and supports on-going reform efforts of the Philippine government, such as those initiated by the Commission on Higher Education and the Professional Regulation Commission to increase industry participation in education reform, and improve relevance of skills of graduates to the needs of the market.

GOAL
To align industry needs with education outcomes and increase industry-academe partnerships.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

• Strengthen regulatory quality of higher education
• Increase transparency in higher education and labor market information
• Strengthen functional linkages between academe, industry and government for economic growth