The construction sector expects to employ another 6 million workers in the next six years under the Duterte administration, the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines said Wednesday.
Trade undersecretary for construction and CIAP head Ruth Castelo said the target employment in the construction sector would be spread out in the next six years, “but we are seeing additional employment of 2 million by 2017 if we are to include mining, agriculture and manufacturing.”
“Every year we will be needing more [workers]. Each year, there will be more infrastructure projects. If we could get 1 million more jobs a year over the next six years, that will be a very good number,” she told reporters at the sidelines of the Philippine Construction Congress in Manila.
Currently, the construction industry employs about 3 million workers.
As a regulatory agency, CIAP encourages more contractors to register and be accredited by the government.
“We will speed up accreditation. There are many contractors, but only a few are licensed. That’s why we encourage them to register this year because they will not be granted government projects, if they haven’t registered with the government yet,” said Castelo.
She said the Public Works Department also encouraged them to get accreditation because of the volume of projects that will be opened.
“By end 2016, we are expecting at least 15,000 contractors accredited by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board. As of July 2016, we already have 8,000 and as of late, there’s already 12,000 accredited contractors,” she said.
Public Works undersecretary for planning and public-private partnership Ma. Catalina E. Cabral said the national budget for construction would reach P9.5 trillion until 2022, effectively increasing its share to the national economy to an average of 7 percent.
She said the current administration promised to unleash the golden age of infrastructure for an accelerated and faster inclusive growth.
“This implies that the amount of infrastructure spending must reach at least 5 percent of the gross domestic product to be at par with international minimum standards and with the level of spending of the country’s Asean neighbors,” she said.