SMC EXPANDS JOB, LIVELIHOOD TRAINING PROGRAM IN QUEZON PROVINCE

SAN Miguel Corporation (SMC), in cooperation with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), has expanded its livelihood skills and job training program in Sariaya, Quezon province to address unemployment and lack of opportunities due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected the country since March.

The SMC-TESDA Sariaya project is the second such program that SMC has launched in a week, following the opening of a similar program last September 30 in Bulacan province, where the company is building the P734 billion Manila International Airport, seen to create more than a million direct and indirect jobs during its construction, and about 30 million tourism-related jobs once it’s completed.

SMC president and COO Ramon S. Ang said the partnership with TESDA, headed by its Director General Isidro Lapena, will equip residents in Sariaya and Bulacan with new skills that will allow them to take advantage of more job and livelihood opportunities and become more resilient in this time of pandemic.

In Sariaya, SMC is set to build a modern, state-of-the-art integrated agro-industrial complex that will include a brewery, grains terminal and feedmill, a ready-to-eat food manufacturing plant, a fuel tank farm, and port facilities.

“We are fast-tracking the training and skills development of residents in areas where we are making big investments and building new facilities, because we want to them to come work for us. Apart from training those who want to get jobs, we’re also equipping other members of the communities with skills to build their own small businesses that can directly or indirectly support our workers,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said.

“Our goal since this pandemic started has been to create as many jobs we can by pushing through with our major investments. This is how we can best support our economy, and help in a meaningful and sustainable way so many Filipinos who are struggling through this crisis,” he added.

At the same time, Ang said that investing in major facilities and infrastructure will pump much-needed funds into the economy, further accelerating the country’s present and post-pandemic recovery.

“It’s important that we remember that we are not just building for the present. We are actually building for the future. For the short- to medium-term we’re providing jobs for locals, those who lost their jobs, or for returning OFWs. But for the long term, we’re actually helping build the foundations of our country’s future economic growth,” he said.

For the Sariaya project, the initial batch of trainees consist of 50 residents from San Miguel-Christian Gayeta Homes, a first-of-its kind, disaster-resilient, sustainable housing community built by SMC for former settlers in properties to be used for its development.

They are set to start training in Organic/Urban Farming/Edible Landscaping and Fish/Meat Processing for 20 and 10 days, respectively.  The program is being done in cooperation with the local government of Sariaya under Mayor Marcelo Gayeta.