PH to pursue 'international certifications' for 9M green jobs for Filipinos
ILO, IRENA extend help in designing int'l certification process
At A Glance
DUBAI, UAE – The Philippine government will aggressively work on international certifications for the targeted 9.0 million “green jobs” in the country through planned upskilling and right-skilling of Filipino workers so they can be gainfully employed not just in the clean energy sector of the Philippines but also globally.
In his message before the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) side event at COP28, Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella said “we will pursue international certifications for green jobs so that our skilled workforce will be globally recognized.”
The energy official emphasized that “the International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and other development partners are helping us in designing this international certification process.”
He stressed “in implementing our blueprint for our renewable energy development, we will create quality and green jobs by taking stock of our most important assets – human capital.”
Based on figures reckoned by the Energy Policy and Planning Bureau (EEPB) of the Department of Energy (DOE), the scale of green jobs that could be generated across the supply chain of the renewable energy (RE) sector could top 9.0 million.
The ‘green jobs’ up for reinforcements are not just focused on power plant installations, but also those on the transmission, distribution as well as other components of the clean energy infrastructure development network.
The Philippines - given its robust pipeline of projects and enhanced attractiveness for renewable energy investments - is being invited for a membership at the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA), an organization that provides one-stop overview as well as event-updates on the international offshore wind industry.
According to Fuentebella, “our commitment to attain global competitiveness is founded in the implementation of skills and competency mapping development programs.”
He added “these will assist Filipino workers to acquire the necessary technological skills to support our growing portfolio of renewable energy.”
At this stage, the DOE official conveyed to GOWA that the Philippine government has already “initiated measures to identify the baseline skills of our workforce in the different stages of offshore wind development.”
He expounded “we will develop and harness multi-generation skilled workers who will competently support our growing domestic offshore wind industry and increase employment opportunities in a more competitive international market.”
A stronger human capital base, Fuentebella opined, could “help communities adapt to changing climate and in return, investments in low-carbon and climate-resilient initiatives will help us further unlock human capital gains.”