Biz Buzz: Winners, losers
The lockdown of Luzon, now running on its sixth week, has displaced a multitude of Filipino workers. But for those who possess certain skill sets, especially those most attuned to the tech space, online hiring remained robust even at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After a strong surge of 14 percent and 15 percent year-onyear for January and February, respectively, online hiring sentiment in the Philippines sustained a 10-percent growth in March, based on the Monster Employment Index, a gauge of online job posting activity compiled monthly by Monster.com.
The business process outsourcing/information technology (It)-enabled services industry outperformed throughout the quarter, charting 23 percent, 28 percent and 25 percent yearon-year growth for January, February and March. Hiring demand for the industry increased by 5 percent on a three-month period and 16 percent on a sixmonth period in March.
The IT, telecom/internet service industry followed closely with 22 percent, 24 percent and 23 percent year-on-year growth during the quarter. The banking, financial, insurance service industry also fared well, with 24 percent, 26 percent and 20 percent growth for the period.
In terms of specific occupations, software, hardware and telecom professionals were the most sought-after in the quarter, and particularly in March. On the other hand, purchase/ logistics/supply chain talent saw the steepest year-on-year decline among job roles.
“Although online hiring growth in the Philippines is steady for now, challenges may arise in the near future as the impact of COVID-19 begins to hit closer to home. These are some truly unprecedented times and it’s more important than ever for employers—particularly in hard-hit industries such as travel and retail—to do what they can to support their employees through this storm,” said Krish Seshadri, CEO of Monster.com for Asia-pacific and Middle East.
“Now is the time for employers to take a step back and think about how they can build agility and resilience in their teams and ensure that their employees have the right skill sets and support to navigate the changes that will be brought on by this adversity.” —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA
Good neighbors
Former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis
“Chavit” Singson has proven to be a good neighbor when he agreed to retrofit the Metrotent Convention Center in Pasig City into a temporary home for the employees of The Medical City (TMC) fighting the spread of COVID-19 starting on Monday.
“Masaya ako at nakatulong tayo mabigyan ng lunas ang problema ng marami nating bayani sa TMC na nahihirapan mag-commute papasok sa TMC at pauwi ng kabahayan nila dahil sa kawalan ng public transport sa panahon ng enhanced community quarantine (ECQ),” said Singson, who partnered with Lopez company First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH), with help from FPH’S construction arm, First Balfour, to retrofit Metrotent in Ortigas Center, Pasig, into a 120-bed temporary shelter for employees of TMC, a hospital also in Pasig just a few hundred meters away from the Metrotent.
After First Balfour completed the retrofitting last Saturday, Singson turned over Metrotent to the management of TMC, which put in place its own ANTI-COVID-19 protocols to assure the safety of its medical front-liners who are temporarily housed there.
“Metrotent is now ready to serve as shelter for the TMC employees,” said Singson, who also waived the rent for Metrotent while the ECQ is in place.
“This is also my response doon sa alok ng isa pa nating kapitbahay, ang FPH ng Lopez Group, na siyang lumapit at nagkusang-loob na sagutin ang gastos sa retrofitting ng Metrotent,” he added.
While at Metrotent, the TMC employees can stay in touch online with loved ones and colleagues through an internet service provided by Sky Cable, another Lopez Group company. First Balfour provided mattresses, pillows and blankets spread in rows over the cavernous floor of Metrotent for TMC male employees. Female employees can stay in individual tents set up by First Balfour also within Metrotent. —TINA ARCEO-DUMLAO INQ