Aboitiz Construction hiring 4,000 workers
Aboitiz Construction Inc. president Albert Ignacio Jr. says they would need skilled, unskilled workers and engineers to meet job orders and contracted projects in the next three to five years
ABOITIZ Construction Inc. (ACI) is hiring 4,000 more workers to support its construction activities across the country.
Of the 4,000 needed workers, Aboitiz Construction president and chief operating officer Albert Ignacio Jr. said on Friday, April 26, they would need about 500 workers for shipbuilding works in Balamban, Cebu and for the ongoing construction of facilities of Austal Philippines.
The rest of the human resource requirement will be scattered to Mindanao and Luzon.
Ignacio said they would need skilled and unskilled workers and engineers to meet job orders and contracted projects in the next three to five years for local and international projects.
According to Ignacio, the demand for more workers will depend on the timeline of the implementation of projects.
“Hopefully, if more projects will be awarded to us this year, the demand for more workers will go up,” he said.
In 2018, ACI hired 6,900 workers, 1,000 of whom were engineers while the rest were pipe fitters and masons.
He said the construction industry continues to reel from a labor shortage, although the problem has diminished this year.
“Last year, we had a problem. This year, we still have a problem, but it’s minimized. Somehow, if you provide employment for the long term, provide benefits, we were able to retain a lot of workers and gain their loyalty,” Ignacio said after a briefing by the Aboitiz Group in Cebu on Friday.
ACI and its subsidiary Aboitiz Construction International Inc. are currently expanding their reach, with projects lined up across the country.
At least 16 ongoing projects were awarded to ACI in 2018 and early 2019.
These include AboitizLand’s The Outlets in Lipa, Batangas, a storage facility in Subic, a power plant in Sarangani, a petrochemical plant in Bataan and fabrication works for North American and Australian companies.
This year, the company expanded into the transmission and logistics markets after bagging negotiated contracts from LiMA EnerZone and MetroPacific Movers.
In Balamban town in Cebu’s western coast, ACI is undertaking fabrication works for Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu) Inc. as well as civil and building works and pre-fabrication of steel materials for Austal Philippines.
Ignacio said Tsuneishi has asked them to ramp up their workforce, especially highly skilled welders.
ACI is also constructing the mine tailings pipeline for Carmen Copper Corp. in Toledo City.
ACI, formerly known as Metaphil, is the privately-held construction arm of Aboitiz and Company.
Opportunities in construction are expected to balloon this year, as industry players take advantage of the government’s massive infrastructure program.
Earlier, Efren Carreon, director of the National Economic and Development Authority 7, pointed out the huge contribution of the construction sector to the 7.6 percent growth of the region’s economy in 2018. Construction grew 14.2 percent last year.
Cebu, Carreon said, had the most number of new constructions in 2018, followed by Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor. /