A million jobs per year await Filipinos should the country be able to get $7.5-billion foreign direct investments, Senator Joel Villanueva said.
Villanueva urged President Rodrigo Duterte to attract foreign investments to create more jobs even as he remained focused on his administration’s campaign against illegal drugs and criminality.
“More investments would translate to better competition which is good for every Filipino,” Villanueva said.
Engaging the business sector in skills training and development, he said, would also provide better and more opportunities to many Filipinos who are seeking employment.
Villanueva earlier filed Senate Bill No. 208 or the “Enterprise-Based Education and Training Act of 2016” which seeks to strengthen Technical Vocational Education and Training in the country by incorporating apprenticeship and “dual training” in the business sector.
“Engaging the business sector in training and educating people will ensure adequate supply of skills that businesses need right now,” the senator said.
Villanueva also urged the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines—a coalition of various foreign chambers from the United States, Australian, New Zealand, Canada, Europe, Japan and South Korea—to invest more in the labor-intensive domestic business process outsourcing industry.
Aside from committing to work toward increasing FDI flow into the country, the JFC also agreed on the importance of skills training and development for workers, especially those employed in the agri-business, mining, tourism, and manufacturing sectors.