MANILA -- The German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry said German companies were optimistic about doing business in the Philippines this year.

But Tristan Loveres, the group's director, said their investors were looking for more skilled labor in the Philippines to support their growing businesses.

Loveres said their group signed a partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to help strengthen technical-vocational education in the Philippines. 

"What is important is addressing the gap between the needs of the industry and the supply coming from the academe. It’s not always the theoretical part, which is (where) we’re very good," Loveres noted. "We are in need in the service sector, logistics, for example, we are in need of skilled workers for the manufacturing." 

"We are here to support the initiatives of the government, bringing in the experience that we have to upgrade them, to upskill them, so that we have also a pool of world-class labor skills that we can cater to the local needs but also to the demands internationally," he added. 

"And even Germany as we all know is in need of labor, skilled labor in particular," he said.

--ANC, 29 January 2024