BIZ BUZZ: The Gokongwei way
While many companies are racing to hire talent, the Gokongwei group appears to be taking a different route—building its own.
Through the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation’s (GBF) “Iskolar ni Juan” program, the conglomerate has quietly created a pipeline of technically trained workers for food giant Universal Robina Corp. (URC), addressing a long-standing challenge in Philippine manufacturing: Finding skilled personnel for increasingly automated factory operations.
The one-year scholarship, launched in 2014, trains scholars in mechatronics servicing and instrumentation and control servicing. Students spend seven months inside GBF’s training center in Calamba, Laguna, before moving to URC facilities for five months of on-the-job training. The setup effectively gives scholars a direct pathway from the classroom to the plant floor.
More than 500 scholars have completed the program so far, with GBF touting a perfect certification passing rate. Graduates earn a Technical Education and Skills Development Authority National Certificate II and become qualified for roles such as production operators, machine technicians and maintenance personnel.
The initiative comes as manufacturers worldwide grapple with shortages of workers who can operate and maintain increasingly sophisticated equipment. Rather than competing solely in the labor market, URC appears to be investing further upstream—helping train workers before they even enter the workforce.
For the Gokongwei group, the program also aligns with a broader push to expand science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. Since its establishment in 1992, GBF has supported thousands of scholars through various programs, with technical-vocational training emerging as one of its more practical approaches to workforce development.
As factories become more automated and industries scramble for specialized talent, scholarships may no longer be viewed merely as corporate social responsibility projects. In some cases, they could become a company’s most reliable recruitment strategy.
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