L-R: MBC-AMSC Director Patricia Siriban; DTI Undersecretary for the Competitiveness and Innovation Group Rafaelita Aldaba; DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual; Unilab Foundation Executive Director Lilibeth Aristorenas, AMDev Chief of Party Danilo Lachica and USAID Mission Director for Philippines and Mongolia Ryan Washburn.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Unilab Foundation, and the Makati Business Club signed a memorandum of understanding last November 7 to formalize a partnership that will support upskilling and reskilling initiatives of the Philippine manufacturing workforce.
The Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Development Alliance, or AMDev, is a five-year program designed to upskill and reskill the men and women in the Philippine manufacturing workforce, making them Industry 4.0-ready. The program is supported by USAID Philippines and implemented by the Unilab Foundation, Inc.
In his speech, DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual noted that AMDev is aligned with DTI’s initiatives under the STI-driven Industrialization Strategy. This strategy seeks to equip the workforce with 21st-century skills to prepare them for the jobs of the future and ensure that jobs and skills mismatches are addressed.
“DTI strongly supports the AMDev program in its initiatives that will have a significant contribution to the advancement of science, technology, and innovation or STI.” Secretary Pascual said. “This project is poised to foster innovation and skills development by providing an avenue for workers to acquire new skills and gain valuable experience, making them more adaptable to the constantly evolving job market not just in the Philippines but globally.”
USAID, the agency supporting the AMDev program, was also present at the signing.
“As your partner in prosperity, the US government, through USAID, has been working with the government and private sector in developing the Philippine workforce to face the challenges of today’s economy.” Michael Schiffer, USAID Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia, said. “Through AMDev, we hope to train young Filipino workers to be more resilient and to adapt to future changes, enabling them to gain meaningful employment and contribute to developing a peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous Philippines for all.”
Under this partnership, DTI has committed to facilitating government-industry-academe engagements to support workforce development and will formulate the Philippine Skills Framework for manufacturing. To ensure program sustainability, the Makati Business Club will establish the Advanced Manufacturing Skills Council (AMSC), which Secretary Pascual noted that the establishment of AMSC will “ensure that positive results are achieved, not only maintained but built upon in the long run.”
The principal signatories of the MOU were DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Unilab Foundation Executive Director Lilibeth Aristorenas, and Makati Business Club Executive Director Francisco Alcuaz, Jr. Signing as witnesses were DTI Undersecretary for the Competitiveness and Innovation Group Rafaelita Aldaba, AMDev Chief of Party Danilo Lachica, USAID Mission Director for Philippines and Mongolia Ryan Washburn, and MBC-AMSC Director Patricia Siriban.