Filipino labor must reap gains from infrastructure plan – NEDA

The government must ensure laborers’ skills and competencies match industry needs amid the Duterte administration’s ambitious infrastructure program, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said yesterday.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the Philippine labor market should be ready to meet the infrastructure program’s requirements to fully maximize gains from “Build Build Build.”

“Bodies governing the education and labor sectors have a crucial role in this,” Pernia said in a statement yesterday.

The NEDA chief said key government agencies should coordinate with industries to identify appropriate skills for construction-related activities.

These agencies are Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

NEDA projects that the infrastructure campaign of the Duterte administration will create an average of 1.1 million jobs annually, mostly from the construction sector.

For 2018, NEDA expects around 820,000 jobs to be generated with a number of infrastructure projects breaking ground.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Labor Force Survey, last year saw around 420,000 new jobs in construction, a 13.2 percent increase from the previous year’s figure.

Pernia noted that the labor demand can be best met if education programs like the K to 12, which added two years to the country’s basic education cycle, will produce a more appropriately trained and skilled workforce.

“The K to 12 program requires a strong academe-industry linkage to prepare students after graduation. ‘Build Build Build’ presents real opportunities for those in search of work,” Pernia said.

Similarly, Pernia stressed that attention should also be given to returning overseas Filipino workers who are skilled or need re-training to be absorbed in the construction industry.

NEDA likewise proposed that all job requirements of the ‘Build Build Build’ program be posted on www.PhilJobsNet.gov.ph, the Philippine government’s official online job site so that returning OFWs are kept abreast of new opportunities in the country.

“Apart from closing the country’s infrastructure gap, our aim is to create many employment opportunities and assist Filipino families in achieving the kind of life that they desire,” Pernia said.