If you are reading this now, chances are, I am already at a new phase in my career, transitioning from the old to a new, better and brighter chapter of my existence. I just let go of a 23-year-old love. No, I am not referring to a person. I just choose to be vague for now.
To most people, letting go is the same as giving up. But to me, the two are very different things. Giving up is often the result of a negative mindset or attitude about something like quitting. You just give up. And this decision gives you feelings of frustration, dissatisfaction, defeat or shame.
I am not a quitter. I am an “overcomer”, if there is such a term. That is also the reason why I did not give up. I just let go.
Letting go releases an individual into new chapters that bring fresh and better opportunities to be the best version of herself. When one gives up, she ends what could possibly be a chance to be a champion.
By letting go, I have made my future mine again. Add to that, my decisions and steps are all directed by God. So, there is no shame in letting go. In fact, I am proud of myself.
On one occasion, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, one of my favorite media and female icons, emphasized how important it is to surround yourself with people who lift you up – people who are going to give you energy and not take energy away from you.
“You need to surround yourself with people who are going to stimulate, inspire and lift you. And if you’re around people who are going to take energy away from you, that’s an energy drain. That’s a sign from your instinct – your inner voice, your intuition to say ‘let them go’,” said Oprah.
Equally thought-provoking was Taylor Swift’s speech when New York University gave her an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree. Aside from being a music genius, this lady speaks of wisdom beyond her age.
In her speech, Swift underscored that one must carefully choose what and who to keep and let go. The versatile singer-songwriter who won 12 Grammy Awards pointed out that “part of growing up and moving into chapters of your life, is about catch and release”. She stressed that one must know what things to keep and what things to release because no one can carry it all at once.
“Decide what’s yours to hold. Let the rest go. Oftentimes, the good things in your life are lighter anyway. So there’s more room for them. You get to pick what your life has time and room for. Be discerning.”
This one’s from me: when one lets go and loses things, it does not mean she has lost. A lot of times, when one chooses to let go – lose things, she gains things (better and brighter things) too.
BEYOND YOURSELF
The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) shared insights on current industry trends and practices to Business Management and Accountancy students of STI West Negros Univeristy in Bacolod City at the university gymnasium on October 4.
MBCCI Chief Executive Officer and concurrent Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Visayas VP and Director for Energy & Water Frank Carbon introduced students to the socio-economic development cycle where the business sector cooperates and collaborates with the academe and the government in order to provide jobs and to produce graduates who are not only educated but are also well-equipped with skills and knowledge relevant to the needs of specific industries. Carbon discussed also the critical role of the business sector in actively helping in curriculum development in order to prevent job mismatch when graduates apply for jobs later on.
“My talk entitled, ‘Beyond Yourself’ focused on the importance of setting the educational mindset of students’ right at the start and nurtured along the way until their graduation. The chamber is also closely collaborating with TESDA to reduce the wicked skills mismatch,” said Carbon.
MBCCI has a memorandum of agreement with STIWNU that aims to synergize governance, technology and innovation through collaboration of business chambers, local government officials, industry stakeholders and the academe.
“Schools are manpower providers for the needs of industries. I am glad that the Academe has asked us, the business sector, what kind of knowledge and skills we need from graduates and future professionals,” added Carbon.
When the MOA was signed in July this year, Dr. Ryan Mark Molina, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of STIWNU said educational institutions must work and collaborate with government and the various sector in order to enrich, strengthen and make the curricula relevant to the current needs of various industries amid rapid changing business and labor landscapes.
“We need the expertise of MBCCI to guide the way we educate our students in Business. This will help us ensure that the competence we teach are aligned with what the industry needs,” said Molina.
The MBCCI also sees the need to revisit the internship programs of schools. Asian Development Bank’s study in 2021 revealed that there are job opportunities, however, workers cannot meet the skill demands of the market. The study found out that “52 percent of Information Technology Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) employers and 58 percent of employers in electronics manufacturing reported that graduates hired in the previous year had not been adequately prepared by their education or training due to the change of skills demanded by both sectors”.
Carbon stressed that local learning institutions must regularly update their training materials. He added that the same study observed a “severe misalignment” between training institutions’ expectations on what level of preparedness and skills the market requires against employers’ expectations on skills that applicants should possess.
“During my talk, students were asking how can they be accepted as an apprentice. They got the message I emphasized in my talk that students’ learnings must be amplified by workplace training. ‘Beyond yourself’ means your degree is not enough. You have to improve your skills,” added Carbon.
Dr. Mima Villanueva, dean of the College of Business Management and Accountancy and Vice President for Academic Affairs said the lecture conducted by MBCCI is just one of the series of lectures and activities that the chamber will be holding in partnership with the university in its commitment to not only educate students but at the same time, reskill and upskill them through relevant training and apprenticeship programs that will expose them to real-world scenarios.
“When our students are equipped with skills that are relevant to the demands of industries and when they are able to experience hands-on training under the tutelage of experts in the different fields, they are empowered and they become adaptable to changes and we are able to help ‘future-proof’ the labor force,” said Villanueva.*
