DTI to construction firms: Recruit more workers

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) is urging construction firms to implement better compensation and benefit plans to attract enough workers necessary in executing the government’s Build Build Build initiative.

“A well-designed compensation and benefits plan could be of great help in attracting, motivating and retaining talents in the industry,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said during the Philippine Construction Human Resource Forum 2017 last week.

The trade chief urged industry players to help the government institutionalize human resource (HR) development in the construction industry, in line with providing sufficient and steady manpower for the country’s aggressive infrastructure push.

“With the strong demographic fundamentals of the country, DTI aims to utilize the country’s labor force capacity to meet the massive labor requirements in anticipation of the surge of infrastructure projects in the coming years,” Lopez said.

The Duterte administration earlier said it plans to spend P8.4 trillion for its Build Build Build initiative, with infrastructure spending projected to reach 7.4 percent of gross domestic product by 2022.

Based on data from the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), the industry expanded its work force by 675,000 last year to 3.3 million, in response to growing demand for skilled laborers brought by the rampant infrastructure development.

Apart from the demand for skilled construction workers coming from the public infrastructure sector, private property developers are also contributing to the growing labor demand, driven by their aggressive project developments.

In fact, a number of property developers have already reported delays in their project construction in the previous quarter due to the lack of skilled construction workers.

In an earlier report, property consultancy firm Colliers International said the lack of skilled workers is resulting to a less robust private construction sector.

“The intensified development of public infrastructure projects around the country will exacerbate this problem,” Colliers said.

Aside from being able to attract workers, Lopez expressed the importance of capacitating workers and equipping them with skills sets that will further lead to greater job satisfaction, stronger employee loyalty and higher productivity.

The trade department, along with the Department of Labor and Employment, National Economic and Development Authority, Philippine Statistics Authority and Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), has collaborated with the International Labor Organization and construction HR practitioners to develop a standardized compensation program that will align benefits plan for talents in Philippine companies.

“Let us work together to foster a collaborative environment that would support our construction industry as we build a nation where our countrymen can enjoy the fruits of our country’s inclusive growth,” Lopez said.

“I am confident that our joint initiatives will provide the needed impetus to create a new phase in construction HR development that would be more responsive to the industry’s manpower requirements,” he added.

The first-ever Construction HR Forum was organized by the CIAP and the Construction Manpower Development Foundation, the construction industry development and regulation arms of the DTI.

The forum, held July 19, seeks to lay the manpower groundwork as the Philippines approaches the Golden Age of Infrastructure through the Build Build Build program.