PEZA links up with schools for ecozone dev’t

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has partnered with the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) to build science and technology parks as part of efforts to develop a “knowledge-based and future-ready workforce.”

PEZA director general Charito Plaza said the investment promotion agency had signed a memorandum of agreement with PASUC for the establishment of the PEZA Institute and Knowledge, Innovation, Science and Technology Parks.

“Plaza said the parks would be located inside state universities and colleges.

“The PEZA Institute, on the other hand, will provide the training to supply the manpower needs of industries per region, she said.

Plaza said workers at the PEZA Institute will be “trained on values formation, work ethics, and discipline so once they get out of the training center and apply to various industries, industry partners would be assured “of a totally transformed Filipino worker who will be one of the world’s best workers.”

For the PEZA Institute, the agency will be partnering with the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to address problems on jobs mismatch.

“We will be partnering with them so that the courses that will be opened up per region by the universities and colleges are those that will develop the skills that are needed by the industries,” she said.

Plaza said jobs mismatch has been a persisting problem for the country.

“Based on data, each year we produce one million, half of them are college graduates but only 30 percent are employable. So we produce a lot of graduates who turn out to be unemployed,” Plaza said.