Meralco hiring more women as line crew

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is incorporating more women in its pool of skilled line crew as part of the company’s continuing efforts to champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Meralco said it is set to welcome new female line crew who have completed the six-month Meralco Line crew Training Program (MLTP) that started last May.

They will be endorsed for further assessment and possible hiring and deployment.

“All of the new MLTP trainees are equipped with the necessary training and tools so that they can safely perform their jobs to the best of their abilities. I am confident that the latest batch of MLTP graduates will use their new learnings to help deliver excellent service to Meralco’s customers,” MLTP manager Roman Leandro Manlapaz said.

The MLTP is a comprehensive training course open to both men and women that involves a series of lectures, thorough physical conditioning, critical assessments, and on-the-job training program geared towards Meralco’s efforts to continuously develop a pool of skilled line crew.

Meralco pioneered the training and hiring of female line crew in Southeast Asia in 2013, which was traditionally operating in a male-dominated industry.

The power distributor said 11 women from the first batch are still working in the company in various capacities, helping deliver stable and reliable electricity service to Meralco customers.

It said this year’s relaunch of the MLTP forms part of  Meralco’s goal to increase women representation in the workforce to nearly half or 40 percent by 2030.

The inclusion of female line crew aspirants in the MLTP is part of the company’s overarching diversity and inclusion program aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and UN SDG 10 on reduced inequalities.

Meralco has also partnered with Don Bosco College-Canlubang for a technician scholarship program for the benefit of 15 aspiring female electrical technicians.

The program covers the tuition and allowances of students undergoing the Technical Vocational Education Training Program for the dual NC II Program on Electrical Installation and Maintenance and Mechatronics that started in August.