The government would need more than three million workers each year for the infrastructure program of the administration, including big ticket projects that would start next year, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan said yesterday.
Bonoan in a briefing in Malacanang said these jobs for skilled and unskilled workers are only for DPWH’s infrastructure projects.
He said total capital outlay for the projects in 2023 is more than P800 billion covering 70,000 big and small contracts.
“So, you can just imagine the labor force that we need in terms of skilled and technical people…Now we are generating, our threshold requirement for the program is almost, about more than three million labor force that will be comprising of skilled and unskilled people on a year-to-year basis. And… this is just the start of the big infrastructure development program of the country,” he said.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma in the same briefing presented the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan 2023-2028 (LEP) which aims to reduce unemployment and address underemployment with quality jobs, and increase the income earning ability of Filipinos.
LEP aims to maximize productive, remunerative, freely chosen, quality and sustainable job opportunities; ensure respect for all rights at work, international commitments and human rights; and, build an inclusive social protection for all.
Laguesma said on top of infrastructure, employment opportunities would come from tourism, agriculture and the business process outsourcing sector.
He said some 75,000 jobs are expected to be generated from the commitments to invest in renewable energy and power which are expected to materialize soon.
He said these are from Germany, Singapore, the United States and the Netherlands.
Laguesma said DOLE is coordinating with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Energy in connection with these projects to ensure that the country has enough manpower, especially skilled workers, for the project implementation.
