By HENRY EMPEÑO | 

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Hope appears in sight for former workers at the debt-ridden Hanjin shipyard, as various government agencies band together to provide new employment for the laid-off workers.

On Saturday next week, a day after the Regional Trial Court in Olongapo City would have conducted the first hearing for the rehabilitation bid filed by the moribund Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Philippines (HHIC-Phil), a job fair will be held at the SBMA Gym with about 70 government contractors and companies at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone participating.

The job fair, dubbed as the Build Build Build = Jobs Jobs Jobs Caravan, is a joint project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Bases Convesion and Development Authority (BCDA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and the Clark Development Corporation (CDC).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic authority, along with is partner agencies, is committed to find jobs for the displaced Hanjin workers.

“Subic is happy to be part of this project to bring greater positive social impact to our people,” Eisma said. “We are committed to find every opportunity for the SBMA to make more jobs available and catalyse greater growth in Central Luzon and the rest of the country.”

In preparation for the Feb. 9 job fair, the SBMA has started pre-registering job applicants at the SBMA Gym, as well as at the Hanjin Village in Castillejos, Zambales, where most of the displaced workers reside.

Eisma said that pre-registration has also been scheduled at the SBMA Gym on Jan. 30 to 31, Feb. 4, and Feb. 6 to 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Former Hanjin workers previously said they had little options left after HHIC-Phil started laying off workers last year because of financial difficulties.

A lot of them had since left to look for jobs in Manila, while others had found temporary employment like driving tricycles to earn a living.

In a statement from the “Build Build Build” team, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III gave the assurance that there will be no job-skill mismatch after DOLE’s profiling activity on 2,779 Hanjin workers showed that around 65 percent or 1,801 are skilled in carpentry, while 24 percent or 661 have skills in vulcanizing and welding.

“We are bringing job opportunities closer to the people. The available jobs guarantee decent domestic employment for our highly skilled workers. They need not sacrifice being away to provide for their families because local productive work abounds,” Bello added.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III urged jobseekers to explore employment opportunities in the nearby Clark Freeport. He said that jobs abound “as (BCDA) shifts to high gear its program to transform New Clark City into the country’s first smart and green metropolis.”

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, for his part, noted the need for additional labor force to match the yearly additional budget in infrastructure projects on account of the Build, Build, Build program, which remains a priority of President Rodrigo Duterte’s government.

“This is an opportunity for us to aid those who lost or will lose their jobs in Hanjin, and at the same time complement the manpower requirement of the BBB program of the government,” Villar pointed out.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said at least a thousand jobs will be available at the jobs caravan, including those for construction workers, welders, carpenters, engineers, and administrative staff.

DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, on the other hand, noted that opportunities in the country are booming.

“Tuloy po ang paghandog ng oportunidad, at paggaling ng abilidad, para lahat ay umunlad,” Lopez said.

 

TOP PHOTO: Displaced Hanjin workers pre-register at the SBMA Gym for the Feb. 9 job fair at the Subic Bay Freeport