EDC and partners to step up employment skills of Bicolano youth

 By Sally A. Altea Published on May 6, 2021

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1074348

 LEGAZPI CITY (PIA) -- At least 120 Bicolano youth from Manito, Albay and Sorsogon City will have the chance to upgrade their skills and be employed to become partners for positive change in their communities.

The Energy Development Corporation (EDC), through its Bacon-Manito (BacMan) geothermal facility, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the local government of Sorsogon City to develop the skills of qualified young residents from BacMan’s host communities in Albay and Sorsogon.  

Also part of this program are the Leyte-based Keitech Foundation Inc. and First Balfour Inc.

Beneficiaries of this program will have the chance to be employed by the First Balfour in the EDC’s upcoming Palayan Binary Power Plant (PBPP) project.

According to EDC President and Chief Operating Officer Richard B. Tantoco, the PBPP is the company’s binary expansion project in its BacMan site, which is targeted to be completed in 2022. EDC has awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction of PBPP to First Balfour after a meticulous competitive bidding process.

Values formation, Tantoco added, is one of the most important parts of the training program noting it as the foundation of dreams that will enable the trainees to dream big and win big.

“In [the] Lopez Group, we believe that education really is the key to unlock opportunities. With a little bit of education and a little bit of luck, I think we can really change the future of some of these kids. But it’s not just skills, it has to be skills, values, aspirations, and ambitions,” Tantoco said.

Under the agreement, at least 120 individuals from the host communities in Sorsogon City and Manito, Albay will undergo a three-month training to be supervised by Keitech Foundation and TESDA.

The graduates will then be assessed and certified for National Certification II by TESDA Sorsogon and will undergo On-the-Job Training and possible employment at First Balfour.

For its part, LGU Sorsogon City will ensure continued support to the training program and ensure that the nominated scholars will complete the technical training. Sorsogon City Mayor Ester Hamor, likewise, expressed her gratitude to the institutions that are part of the program.

“On behalf of the City of Sorsogon, I thank EDC, TESDA and Keitech. This is an opportunity for our constituents to rise above economic challenges, and for this we are truly grateful. This tech-voc training is a big help, and with the assurance that the trainees will be employed, surely more lives will be changed. We look forward to partnering with you towards a better and bright future for Sorsogon City,” Hamor said.

EDC, through its subsidiary BacMan Geothermal, Inc., operates the 130-MW Bacon-Manito geothermal facility that straddles between Manito, Albay and Bacon, Sorsogon and supplies clean and reliable power to the Luzon grid and retail electricity customers. Its almost 1,200MW installed geothermal capacity accounts for over 62% of the country’s total geothermal capacity. (PIA5/Albay)