THE GOVERNMENT is thinking of holding job fairs abroad to bring home skills needed for its P8-trillion infrastructure development program till 2022, the Finance chief told reporters recently.

“I am told that getting skilled workers is getting a little bit tough. I am talking about technicians, finishing, welders. Probably its a good idea for our infra(structure) agencies together with the contractors to hold a job fair abroad where we have Filipinos,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

“We should be prepared to conduct a job fair.”

Asked if the repatriation drive would dent growth of remittances, which have long fueled household spending that in turn have been an anchor of the country’s relatively fast economic growth, Mr. Dominguez replied: “I don’t think it will be that much.”

“I mean, you know that is P30 billion — that is a lot of money a year,” he explained, even as he acknowledged there will be “probably some [impact on remittances], but you know they (returning workers) will be contributing locally [so] it’s not a loss to us.”

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data show that cash remittances totaled $25.318 billion as of November last year, about four percent more than the $24.341 billion posted in 2016’s comparative 11 months, a pace that matches the central bank’s projection for 2017. The BSP expects overall remittances to have reach a fresh high of $28 billion that year.

Property consultants Santos Knight Frank, Colliers International Philippines and Pronove Tai have reported there is a labor shortage in the construction industry which has caused project delays.

Construction grew by a slower 5.7% last year compared to 2016’s 15.1%, Philippine Statistics Authority data show. The same comparative years saw growth of public construction ease to 13.5% from 28%, while that of private construction slowed to 3.3% from 11.5%.

Mr. Dominguez said that slowdown was due to the heightened demand for construction workers around the globe.

“You know, local companies have to understand that skilled workers are acceptable anywhere in the world and if you want to get skilled workers you have to compete. I think that’s just inevitable. Quite frankly a lot of other countries are also getting into infrastructure projects,” he said.

“We want to talk to TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) and start reorienting their program to more jobs with high demand.”

The current administration plans to spend more than P8 trillion on infrastructure in a bid to boost overall economic growth to 7-8% from this year to 2022, when President Rodrigo R. Duterte ends his six-year term, from 6.7% last year, 6.9% in 2016 and a 6.2% average in 2010-2015.

Such sustained faster growth, in turn, is expected to cut unemployment rate to 3-5% from 5.5% in 2016 and slash poverty rate to 14% from 21.6% in 2015. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

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