Batangas ecozone seeks over 1,000 new workers

MANILA, Philippines — At least 14 locators of the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) economic zone in Batangas recently participated in a job fair as they seek over a thousand additional workers for their operations.

In a statement, Lopez-led FPIP said it recently held the Sulong Buhay Job fair at the ecozone, in coordination with the local government unit (LGU) of Santo Tomas, Batangas.

It said that most of the participating locators include manufacturers of various products for the export market.

Among these are  Brother Industries (Phil.),  Canon Business Machines Phils.,  EHS Lens Phils.,  EMD Technologies Phils.,  Honda Logistics Phils.,  Honda Phils,  Ibiden Phils,  JMS Healthcare Phils., Nikkoshi Phils.,  Nippon Micrometal Corporation,  Nippon Premium Bakery,  NYK TDG Phils.,  PKI Manufacturing & Technology, and Shimano (Phils.) Inc., as well as Beta Electromechanical Corp., a subcontractor for an FPIP locator.

Santo Tomas Vice Mayor Catherine Jaurigue-Perez said 196 applicants were hired by locators on the spot during the job fair, emphasizing that around 1,500 positions remain open.

Based on information from the PESO or Public Employment Service Office of the Santo Tomas LGU, the locators posted 1,685 job openings while 734 potential employees showed up at the fair.

Of these jobseekers, 538 will undergo further processing and screening, leaving hundreds of other FPIP vacancies open for others to take.

FPIP said it  expects employment opportunities inside the ecozone to expand further in the near future following the announcement of Dyson, a global technology company, to open a new P11 billion research and development (R&D) campus inside FPIP.

The new campus in Santo Tomas, Batangas, is thought to be one of the largest investments, and most advanced technology manufacturing centers in the country that underscores the growing importance of the Philippines in Dyson’s global ambitions.

Dyson  earlier said it was  targeting to initially hire an additional 400 engineers and more than 50 graduate engineers who will join the team later this year.

The company said its R&D teams in the Philippines would be focused on software, artificial intelligence, robotics, fluid dynamics and hardware electronics.

“These fields of expertise are critical for Dyson’s high-performing products, from robotic technologies to air enhancement technologies, and beauty products, such as the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer, which are increasingly enabled by software, sensors and connectivity,”the company said.

Currently, the 520-hectare FPIP ecozone, located in the cities of Santo Tomas and Tanauan in Batangas, provides employment for almost 70,000 Filipinos.

Lopez-controlled First Philippine Holdings Corp., together with partner Sumitomo Corporation of Japan, established FPIP as a world-class location for global manufacturers and traders, as well as a platform for creating jobs for ordinary Filipinos and tax revenues for the government.