SBMA, TESDA agree to produce more highly skilled, reliable workforce in Subic Freeport

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to rekindle its partnership to produce more highly skilled and reliable workforce.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Rolen C. Paulino and TESDA Secretary Isidro S. Lapeña signed the agreement at the Hilton Clark Hotel in Clark Freeport on Thursday during TESDA’s 17th General Directorate Conference.

“Subic Bay Freeport is well-known to be the center of highly skilled and English-speaking workers. That is why a lot foreign investors have been confidently setting up their businesses here,” Paulino said.

He added that even during the height of the pandemic foreign investors remained in the Freeport still hoping to make it happen in the Philippines and help revive the economy.

According to the MOA, building 309 located at Canal Road in Subic Bay Freeport will be utilized as a skills training and assessment center to train potential workers who will complement workforce requirements of industries inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ).

He added that the center also intends to address the training and assessment improvement requirements of the Freeport zone workers, which include the displaced workers due to the pandemic, the indigenous peoples and the disadvantaged sectors in the area. 

Secretary Lapeña said, “For skills and livelihood programs, the training center will offer programs in agriculture, construction, automotive and land transportation related sectors for the displaced workers and others in need of skills training and upgrading of skills or reinskilling.”

The MOA also stated that the SBMA shall provide the training venue or facility including cost of utilities, while TESDA shall ensure that qualified trainers and assessors, as well as appropriate tools, supplies, equipment and materials are available in the conduct of training and assessment.

“TESDA shall also provide free training and assessment and other related services thru available scholarship programs. Both parties shall jointly implement minimum health protocols in the conduct of training and assessment under the new normal,” Lapeña added.

The duration of the MOA is within five years, providing the two agencies a long-term partnership. It also ensures that the appropriate training and assessment programs and services are extended to the intended beneficiaries of the SBFZ.

The training facility is a two-storey building with an area of 2,000 square meters, initially costing P6.5 million allotted by the SBMA for refurbishment. The first phase will include workshop areas in welding, electrical training program, and other support amenities.

The SBMA’s expansion project for the facility includes the creation of workshop areas on electronics and photovoltaic system at the second floor.

Witnessing the event were Clark Development Corporation (CDC) President Emmanuel Gaerlan, TESDA Board Members Randy Nonato and Nonita Ortiz, SBMA Labor Manager Atty. Melvin Varias, SBMA Public Relations Manager Armie Llamas, TESDA Region 3 Director Balmyrson Valdez, TESDA Deputy Director General (DDG) Lina Sarmiento, DDG Rosanna Urdaneta, DDG Aniceto Bertiz III, DDG Gabriel Luis Quisumbing, and other officials of the two agencies.

Back in 2018, the SBMA and TESDA also collaborated with a company engaged in trading of motor vehicles here for the training of workers in the automotive industry.

Subictrak International Inc., a Subic-registered enterprise engaged in importation, remanufacture, rebuilding and re-export of motor vehicles and heavy equipment, joined TESDA for an in-plant Dual Training System to help increase standards in truck rebuilding. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic firm partners with TESDA to train auto workers

A company engaged in trading of motor vehicles here has sealed an agreement with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for the training of workers in the automotive industry.

Subictrak International Inc., a Subic-registered enterprise engaged in importation, remanufacture, rebuilding and re-export of motor vehicles and heavy equipment, will join TESDA for an in-plant Dual Training System to help increase standards in truck rebuilding.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the partnership exemplifies the culture of community involvement that the agency is cultivating among stakeholders in the Subic Freeport.

Under the agreement, TESDA will execute the training program designed by both parties in accordance with the Dual Training System Act of 1994, while Subictrak will provide the facility for the in-plant Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC2 class and Automotive Servicing NC2 class.

The memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by Subictrak president Ferdinand Tangan and TESDA provincial training center administrator Eugene Peñaranda.

TESDA Zambales provincial director Benhur Baniqued lauded Subictrak for partnering with TESDA to help address job mismatch in the community.

Baniqued said TESDA Zambales encourages such partnerships to strengthen the interaction between the industry and the academe. “By doing so, we are able to somehow minimize the so-called job mismatch, if not eliminate it,” he added.

Subictrak’s chief executive, meanwhile, expressed support to the government’s objective of improving the quality of life of the Filipino workforce through the development of technical skills and proper work values.

He said the Subictrak-TESDA partnership will ensure that the employees they will hire in the future would be well-trained for the job.

“We expect that with this partnership we will improve a lot in the company, as we expect TESDA to teach us well. And we will gladly accept the trainees you will bring to us,” Tangan also said.

Subictrak is a 40% Chinese-60% Filipino owned corporation registered in the Subic Bay Freeport since July 2004. (RFD/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

PARTNERSHIP: TESDA Zambales provincial director Benhur Baniqued (left), TESDA provincial training center administrator Eugene Peñaranda, and Subictrak president Ferdinand Tangan (right) conclude a partnership for training for workers in the automotive industry. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic Freeport firms, schools form ICT council

Companies, schools and government agencies involved in information and communications technology (ICT) at the Subic Bay Freeport have formed a multi-sectoral organization to maximize industry prospects and boost the potentials of this free port as a world-class ICT hub.

In a meeting organized by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) recently, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone ICT Advisory Council was formed with Atty. Severo Pastor Jr., manager of the SBMA Labor Department, elected as president.

Among the attendees to the organizational meeting were senior officers and delegates from various schools and ICT-related companies in Olongapo City and the provinces of Zambales and Bataan, network providers, representatives from the media and the academe, and government agencies like the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

“The Subic Bay Freeport Zone ICT Advisory Council has renewed enthusiasm in establishing a stronger network with more direct linkages to build a better partnership towards a more focused ICT industry,” Pastor said.

He admitted that a number of investors engaged in business process outsourcing (BPO) that found it hard to recruit qualified staff in the Subic Bay area eventually closed shop.

However, BPO investors should not be discouraged by this and instead train their own workers to reach the desired level of excellence, he added.

“At the Hanjin shipyard, local workers used to work only with acetylene or stick welding machines. However, after providing training in various types of arc welding, Hanjin has become successful with plenty of locally hired welders,” Pastor pointed out.

Meanwhile, in a message read by SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator Joy Alvarado, SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia said that in a short period of time, the Philippines has become one of the top outsourcing destinations in the world.

“We in Subic should take a chunk of that opportunity,” Garcia added.

SBMA Director Benjamin Antonio III, who was chosen as adviser for the ICT Council, noted that Subic is very much ready to become an ICT hub but that only business locators are lacking.

“Magkaroon lang ng kahit isa pang (BPO) player sa Subic, makikita nila ang kakaibang opportunity ng BPO sa Subic Freeport,” Antonio said.

He also pointed out the facilities that are already in place in Subic to provide the needs of the BPO locators, including those of PLDT SubicTel, fiber optic cable system for reliable linkages, dependable security system, related infrastructure, power supply and access linkages to other economic zones and Metro Manila.

“We are in a unique position to attract locators. That is why we need to be more aggressive and focus on creating job opportunities, focus on creating a more resilient SBFZ, and promote a positive image of Subic Bay,” Antonio also said.

In the same forum, Director Benhur Baniqued of the TESDA Zambales provincial office recommended aligning and adjusting the educational curriculum of the country towards defining the requirements of the BPOs.

Baniqued said that the government should encourage educational institutions to improve and support the ICT industry, while urging the experts to share their knowledge and equipment that are lacking in most of the schools in the locality. (RAV/MPD-SBMA)

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