The government should put premium in developing the quality of human resources, as it will help the country achieve inclusive and sustainable growth.

“The best thing about the Philippines is the Filipino, so it’s high time we invest in the further development of our people,” said Senator Bam Aquino, chairman of the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, as he echoed an earlier position by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

Aquino also encouraged schools to help in the development of human resources by providing training and other capacity building measures to arm students with additional skills when they turn professional in the future.

“Aside from this, we should provide added training to our seasoned workers so they will not be left behind in these modern times,” the senator added.

Aquino stressed that strengthening human resources development will also help create more jobs in the country, particularly in areas of agriculture, tourism, infrastructure development, semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, and business process outsourcing (BPOs).

“With jobs available for more Filipinos, the unemployment rate and poverty incidence in the country will go down,” Aquino said. Aquino added that the human resources development is crucial especially with the 2015 ASEAN Integration fast approaching.

“We need to develop our human resources now so we can be ahead of the competition for the lion’s share of the market composed of 600 million people,” Aquino stressed.

With capacity building is one of the areas of cooperation identified in the 2015 ASEAN integration, Aquino said investing in human resources would empower the country to face the challenges of integration.

Photo source: pcauthority.com.au