12,000 jobs offered

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS Job seekers were told to take construction jobs in “Build, Build, Build” projects, like the MRT 7 shown here, and get “highly competitive” pay.—NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Nearly 12,000 jobs would be up for grabs in tomorrow’s “Build, Build, Build” job fair, which will prioritize the hiring of repatriated workers for the Duterte administration’s key infrastructure projects.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III urged job seekers, especially skilled workers returning from overseas jobs, to apply for jobs as he assured a “highly competitive” pay.

While majority of jobs to be offered at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City were in the construction sector, Bello said there would also be job openings in other industries like communications, public relations, computer and information technology, medical, health care and human resources.

Officials expressed confidence that the job fair would help improve the country’s employment rate.

Bello earlier said the “Build, Build, Build” program helped the construction industry grow by more than 13 percent last year.

Citing labor force survey data, Bello said the construction industry absorbed more than 4 million workers in April, higher than the 3.5 million workers employed by the industry last year.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said that in the first quarter of 2018 alone, public construction grew by 25 percent and investments in the industry rose by 10 percent.

Villar said that since the start of the Duterte administration, the government had built 892 bridges and a total of 3,945 kilometers of roads.

Nearly 1,600 bridges were also improved, he added.