TUBA, Benguet – The government is preparing the country’s workforce for the expected influx of foreign investors wanting to establish their business activities in strategic areas within the archipelago to address the unemployment and underemployment in the country.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, who was the guest of honor and speaker during the celebration of the 62nd feast of the Sto. Niño de Prague here over the weekend, stated that the agency is closely working with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the other government agencies to ascertain the manpower requirements of the potential investors to ensure that the prospective workers are ready for the jobs that will be provided.
Further, he claimed that the labor department is also working on the easing up of the requirements of the potential investors in the put up of their operations pursuant to the Ease of Doing Business Act so that investors will be able to immediately operate in the country.
Secretary Laguesma pointed out that the government is also speeding up the implementation of the digitalization initiatives to ensure overall connectivity that will also be helpful to the prospective investors.
He disclosed that what President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. wants is that such investments should not be concentrated in the National Capital Region (NCR) or just a few regions but the same must be strategically distributed in various parts of the country to ensure that there will be a balance of investments and development.
According to him, investments spur development that is why the government is bullish on the potential investments that will be infused by foreign investors who previously committed to the President that they will be establishing their businesses in the country during his foreign trips over the past several months.
The DOLE official underscored that the government is also looking to provide steady policies so that there will be no changing of the rules in the middle of the game which will not be actually be good for investors, thus, the need for concerned government agencies and local government units to harmonize their business policies to conform with the globalization efforts of the present administration.
According to him, government officials are keeping their fingers crossed on the eventual realization of the committed foreign investments in the country that will definitely contribute in effectively and efficiently addressing the unemployment and underemployment in the country.
He underscored that it is important for the government to ensure the readiness of the country’s labor force with the standards of the foreign investors so that more people will be gainfully employed once the investments of the businessmen from foreign countries will start being infused to the country’s growing economy.
Laguesma stipulated that the expected foreign investments will surely be a great contribution in the ongoing efforts to revive the heavily impacted economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic so that displaced workers will be able to find suitable jobs for them to earn income to sustain the living condition of their families.