By:
Daxim L. Lucas - 12:07 AM January 17, 2017
The operator of the
country’s electricity power grid will spend at least P50 million on a five-year
skills training program for unemployed and underemployed members of its
stakeholder communities, in an effort partly meant to protect its transmission
facilities nationwide.
In a press briefing,
National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) president Henry Sy Jr. said
the program was also aimed at addressing the shortage of skilled construction
workers around the country.
“We wanted to make this
project a reality because we recognize the lack of skilled workers in various
industries, especially in construction,” he said in a press briefing on Monday
where the University of the Philippines-administered training program was
launched. “The lack of knowledge and work standards jeopardizes their safety,
and the quality of work that they produce.”
NGCP and UP signed a
memorandum of agreement for the creation of the NGCP-UP Skills Camp.
The partnership
includes establishing relationships with indigent residents of identified
communities, conducting needs assessment analysis for livelihood programs,
aside from the actual skills training.
Through a separate
partnership with the Philippine Employment Services Office (Peso), trainees who
will complete the course will also be assisted for possible employment
opportunities within their locality.
One of NGCP’s biggest
recurring issues is the vulnerability of its transmission towers in remote
areas to bombings by bandits who extort money from the firm, or from locals who
pilfer steel from its facilities—something the firm hopes to curtail by winning
the support of locals who reside nearby.
The grid operator has
identified a population of 155,000 residents in 29 communities, 62,000 of whom
are individuals in the labor market.
The company projects
that it will invest about P20,000 per household to achieve an end goal of
long-term increased employability and income of project beneficiaries.
The program will start
with an estimated 1,000 residents from seven identified key areas near UP
campuses in Los Baños, Laguna; Davao; Iloilo; and Tacloban, Leyte benefiting
from the project.
Sy emphasized the
corporation’s goal of contributing to the alleviation of poverty and issues on
job security.
“By providing skills
training as part of NGCP’s corporate initiatives, we open more doors of job
opportunities to our partner communities,” he said. “The identified areas are
our partners in protecting transmission facilities, and this project is a
fulfillment of our vow to support their socio-economic development. With no
less than UP as our partner, NGCP is confident that the success of this project
will be replicated in more areas in the future.”
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