Boracay, Aklan, Philppines—– The SFI Group, in coordination with DOLE-BLE shared valuable insights regarding the Philippine TalentMap Initiative during the 37th APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit held last May 14-17, 2015. Mr. Luis Alberto Anastacio, President and CEO of SFI Group led the Philippine delegation in presenting the said initiative in one of the APEC Human Resource Development Working Group (HRDWG) – Labor and Social Protection Network (LSPN) meetings.
Representatives from different member economies namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Peru, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Papua New Guinea, USA, were present in the meeting, together with the delegates from ILO, USAID, and ABAC. From the sharing of each economy, it was noted that Malaysia and Australia were already implementing similar programs. “The Philippine Talent Map Initiative would help the workforce in examining its strengths and weaknesses, and creating relevant policies and responsive programs in developing a sustainable, inclusive, and competitive talent pipeline for global economy this presents an opportunity for creative collaboration among APEC economies through multi-country workforce development project”, said Mr. Anastacio.
The discussions in the LSPN meeting did not only cover labor trends and concerns but also about social protection and its linkage to employment. Another resource person from the Philippines representing the World Vision, discussed a program called ABK3 LEAP, which stands for Livelihood, Education, Advocacy and Protection to Reduce Child Labor in Sugarcane Areas. The presentation was then followed by Chinese Taipei on Facilitating Human Resource Mobility through Social Protection. Other state representatives from Australia, Malaysia, Russia, USA and Japan, respectively, discussed similar concept notes and program details focusing on different themes such as academic mobility, seasonal labor mobility, vocational training, and the economic significance of women population. Mr. Malcom Greening and Ms. Katherine Brimon, Chair and Vice Chair of the HRDWG LSPN Meeting facilitated the discussion among the delegates.
With high hopes to all the senior official delegates, more programs and policies would be implemented among APEC economies. Secretary Baldoz, in her Welcome Remarks, expressed her goals for the APEC, specifically, (1) enhancing human resource quality to meet supply chain demands, (2) addressing social dimensions of globalization, (3) facilitating mobility of labor and skills development, and (4) enhancing participation of women in the economy. Moreover, the meeting permitted the APEC economies to share knowledge on, and best practices in, investing in human capital and in building inclusive economies.
Meanwhile, other delegates from SFI Group were Ms. Estrellita A. Anastacio – Chairman of SFI Group, Ms. Vivian A. Guerrero – Treasurer, Ms. Heidelyn V. Concepcion – HRDA & Operations Gropu Head of Temps and Staffers, Ms. Gina A. Jusay – Business Unit Head of SFI CareerCenter, Ms. Patricia Margarita Z. Acepcion – BPO, RPO and Shared Services Recruitment Head of BusinessTrends, and Mr. Richard P. Monteverde – Senior Career Coach of SFI Career Center.