PEP Logo Signing of the Memorandum of Agreement
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The Promoting English Proficiency (PEP) Project is an initiative of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and the Makati Business Club that aims to develop a world-class Filipino workforce with English proficiency that meets high international standards.

The PEP project was initially designed by representatives from the Philippines-U.S. Business Council, American Chamber of Commerce, Sun Microsystems Philippines, Inc., TOEIC represented by Hopkins International Partners Inc., DynEd represented by Interactive Language Solutions (ILS), and the Knowledge Institute.


The Problem


According to a nationwide survey conducted by the Social Weather Station in March of 2006, Filipinos are no longer as proficient in English as they seem. Based on the survey results, today

  • 65 percent of Filipinos understand spoken English compared to 74 percent in 1993
  • 65 percent read in English as against 73 percent in 1993
  • 48 percent write in English in contrast to 59 percent in 1993
  • 32 percent speak in English compared to 56 percent in 2000

The Department of Education found that only 6.59% of graduating high school students has a mastery of English. Statistics from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines show that less than 5% of applicants are hired because of inadequate English skills.

With English as the global language, the situation is eroding the competitiveness of the Filipino workforce, the country's richest resource.

We can correct this

Through an information, awareness, and advocacy campaign that highlights the critical importance of English language proficiency for the success of Filipino workers.
Through the promotion of the certification of Filipinos using internationally-recognized tests of English and encouraging employers to adopt higher standards of certification for the hiring and advancement of employees.
Through refresher English training for Filipino professional workers, students soon to enter the labor force, and teachers using a blended approach of classroom teaching and computer-aided instruction.
Together with an expanding roster of partners, the PEP project is establishing at least 50 Computerized English Language Centers (CELCs) to train and certify 45,000 students and teachers by the end of 2008.




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