The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Trade and Industry-Board of Investments (DTI-BOI) tie up to strengthen academe-industry linkage to help boost the Philippines’ automotive industry.
The Philippine automotive industry is one of the country’s major industries generating about 1.68 million jobs, and automotive parts account for 6.4% of the country’s exports ($3.8 billion) in 2017, data from the Board of Investments (BOI) showed.
To further boost the sector, a JICA-DTI-BOI project Elaboration of Industrial Promotion Plans using Value Chain Analysis supports policy making initiatives in the Philippines including academe-industry linkage.
Under the project, Japanese companies and other delegates convened recently in the country’s first Philippine Auto Industry Academia Linkage Congress in Manila that aims to discuss human resource opportunities in the country’s automotive sector.
“JICA’s technical cooperation with DTI-BOI is an opportunity for the Philippines to look into opportunities in the automotive industry so the Philippines can attract more investments and jobs,” said JICA Senior Representative Tetsuya Yamada.
“By creating a platform for academe-industry-government collaboration, the automotive sector can position better in the global market.”
Japanese companies namely Honda Cars Philippines, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation, Toyota Motor Philippines, DENSO Philippines Corporation, and SIIX EMS Philippines, Inc., to name a few, attended the activity.
Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa, BOI Executive Director said that one Philippine key advantage is its people. Through the country’s motor vehicle development programs, efforts to encourage more locators or investors by capitalizing on our human resources advantage are being prioritized.
Japanese company DENSO that operates a design center in the Philippines highlighted jobs opportunities for Filipino engineers and administrative professionals in the automotive parts sector, while SIIX EMS Philippines underscored its technical support needs in the Philippines.
Some 800 students from the country’s leading engineering universities like Mapua University, University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University among others also participated in the event.
The industry-academe-government collaboration is part of the Philippines’ inclusive innovation strategy to help integrate the automotive industry in the global value chain.
Hundreds of students flocked the Philippine Auto Industry Academia Linkage Congress, a joint collaboration between JICA, DTI-BOI, JobStreet.com, and the Technological Institute of the Philippines.