MANILA, Philippines — The Duterte administration on Tuesday launched an online job matching platform to help meet the growing demand for skilled workers for the government’s ambitious infrastructure program.
Dubbed “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs,” the portal aims to consolidate all employment opportunities from all concessionaires and construction companies involved in the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program.
More than 11,000 jobs are available on the platform.
“The new portal will enhance our goal of reaching Filipinos here and abroad to join the government’s infrastructure push,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.
The Duterte government plans to spend more than P8 trillion to upgrade the country’s dilapidated infrastructure and to supercharge economic growth to 7-8 percent from this year until 2022.
But some observers had questioned the Duterte administration’s ability to take on these big-ticket projects and finish them on time, citing among others lack of technical expertise that has caused a labor crunch.
The Department of Finance earlier said the government would hold job fairs abroad to encourage Filipino expats to come home and take part in the construction boom.
According to the DOF, local construction firms need to compete with companies overseas and provide better compensation packages to address the high demand for skilled workers now.
“The biggest, boldest, and most ambitious infrastructure plan of the Philippine government is also helping us create more jobs for the Filipinos,” Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said.
“That is why we encourage everyone especially job seekers to utilize this new Jobs Jobs Jobs Portal and help us build vital infrastructure projects across the country,” Villar added.