Lopez-led ecozone says locators, Batangas firms need more workers

A DOZEN locators at First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) need more workers, adding to the 4,000 vacancies in more than 50 companies in Santo Tomas City, Batangas province, the Lopez-led ecozone said over the weekend.

In a statement, it said the city government along with FPIP identified the vacancies, numbering up to 4,184, during two job fairs held recently at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ campus in the city.

Of the total vacancies, about a third or 1,089 were jobs for overseas deployment, while the bulk at 3,095 were local firms’ open jobs.

Of the local vacancies, 1,113 were the employment needs of FPIP locators, the ecozone said.

It identified the employment needs to include engineers, accountants, psychologists, office supervisors, human resource personnel, and production operators.

FPIP quoted Santo Tomas Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan as saying: “Industries and locators in the ecozones have significantly contributed to the continued success of my administration’s core agenda of providing decent jobs for Tomasinos.”

Meanwhile, Ricky Carandang, FPIP vice-president and head of external affairs, said the job fairs “offer our locators a venue for hiring employees who will contribute to company growth. Local residents who are constituents of our [local government unit] partners also benefit because they get hiring priority during these fairs.”

The Lopezes’ First Philippine Holdings Corp., together with Japan’s Sumitomo Corp., established FPIP as a location for global manufacturers and traders, as well as a platform for creating jobs and generating tax revenues for the government.

The company said its 520-hectare ecozone provides employment for nearly 80,000 Filipinos.