SCHOOLS TO RISE SOON. Senator Cynthia Villar greets supporters in Tacloban City in this file photo. Senator Cynthia Villar is eyeing the establishment of construction schools to address the shortage of skilled workers in the country. Schools offering training programs on masonry and construction painting will rise in Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City and Davao City, the lady senator, who visited Guiuan, Samar, said on Friday (March 29, 2018).
GUIUAN, Eastern Samar -- Senator Cynthia Villar is eyeing the establishment of construction schools to address the shortage of skilled workers in the country.
These Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG) schools, offering training programs on masonry and construction painting, will rise in Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City and Davao City, in addition to the ones operating in Las Piñas and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
“We will put up construction schools since there is now a high demand for skilled construction workers, especially the government, due to its ‘Build, Build, Build’ Program,” Villar said in an interview on Friday.
“We want our people to have jobs so they will progress. We believe that if there are job opportunities, their families will improve economically, she added.
No less than President Rodrigo Duterte has lamented that the lack of construction workers in the country, among others, is one of the reasons why major infrastructure projects under his ambitious “Build, Build, Build” Program is facing some delays.
Duterte has directed the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to remedy the reported lack of experts in carpentry and welding, among others.
Villar, who is seeking re-election to the Senate, has established almost 2,000 livelihood projects in the country involving water hyacinth handicrafts; water lily and garlic handmade paper; citronella massage oil and mosquito repellent; coconut-weaving and charcoal briquette out of waste coconut husks; handloom blanket weaving; bamboo processing; parol-making out of bamboo; recycling of waste plastic into school chairs; kitchen and garden waste composting for organic fertilizer; and vermiculture.
Training courses are also offered for free in the two SIPAG farm schools she established in Cavite and Bulacan.
These training programs include rice seed production and mechanization; vegetable farming, mushroom production; sweet corn production; native animal production; aquaculture; farm business school; selling and marketing; and farm tourism site accreditation.
Villar was here to attend a grand rally of candidates seeking provincial and congressional posts in Eastern Samar. (PNA)
