THE SUBIC Bay Metropolitan Authority and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority are considering establishing a training skills center inside the economic zone.

The SBMA and TESDA signed a Memorandum of Agreement in an effort to develop a more highly skilled and dependable workforce for SBMA’s developing sectors.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Rolen Paulino said that foreign investors want to put up their businesses in SBMA.

“Subic Bay Freeport is well-known to be the center of highly skilled and English-speaking workers. That is why a lot foreign investors have been confidently setting up their businesses here,” Paulino said.

The center plans to meet the training and assessment needs of freeport zone workers, including those who have been displaced due to the pandemic, Indigenous peoples, and disadvantaged sectors in the area.

TESDA chief Isidro Lapeña said that they will offer programs in agriculture, construction, automotive and land transportation related sectors “for the displaced workers and others in need of skills training and upgrading of skills.”

The training facility is a two-story building with a floor area of 2,000 square meters that cost the SBMA P6.5 million to repair.

Workshop areas for welding, an electrical training program, and other support amenities will be included in the initial phase.