San Fernando, Pampanga—The Technical Education Skills Development Authority in Central Luzon will prioritize the training of construction workers in the region to supply the manpower needs of P7 trillion in infrastructure projects the national government plans to implement in the next six years.
Nomer Pascual, chief of the Technical Division of Tesda in Central Luzon, said the move aims to supply the construction industry with the workers it needs as the government expects the number of projects to rise dramatically.
Industry reports say the Philippine construction sector needs about 200,000 workers, but only half are available and just 25,000 are actually employed, resulting in the delay of existing projects.
Pascual said an estimated 10,000 students have finished skills training under the 149 programs of Tesda last year, and 8,068 were in the construction program.
The workers would go into the construction of more condominiums of the private sector, which would in turn house the expansion of companies in the $23-billion business process outsourcing industry in the country.
Remittances from overseas Filipino workers, which are estimated to reach $25 billion in 2016, will also drive the economy and lead to more houses and construction work, Pascual added.
Electricians, plumbers, pipe fitters, masons, welders and other skilled laborers could finish Tesda’s construction skills program in just two months, Pascual noted.
“An electrician can work anywhere, even in his neighborhood or at nearby establishments, and earn money even without going to the construction sites or fields,” he said.
Anyone interested to learn and earn an honest living, Pascual said, can go to any of TESDA’s 25 training centers in Central Luzon and get a national certification of their chosen skill in 60 days. “This certification is recognized here and abroad,” he added.
Pascual admitted more students are enrolling in TESDA’s tourism program at present than in construction, where the labor demand is expected to be high within the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Pascual urged the media to help inform the labor force, specially the youth, that instead of engaging in illegal drugs “there is a huge demand for construction workers in the country today.”
However, TESDA is having is having hard time persuading the youth to enter the construction workforce because of the culture of Filipinos ‘to look down on such jobs and deem it as both degrading and low paying,” he said.
