But Engineer shortage looms, Phl mining investments on the rise

CEBU, Philippines - While the Philippines is considered as one of the hottest investment destinations for big mining firms worldwide despite the issues of policies and regulations, the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers (PSEM) is encouraging the young generation to consider this profession.

PSEM president Caesar I. Lao-as said that the Philippines today lacks good supply of mining engineers, although the demand here and abroad is tremendously growing.

According to  Lao-as the country is only producing at least 60 to 70 mining engineer graduates a year, and this number is too small to supply the demand for this profession.

Unfortunately, he said that good mining engineers are also practicing their professions abroad, where offers are good and with attractive employment packages.

Unlike before, that demand for mining engineers was too discriminating,  Lao-as said the growing interest of global mining firms to set up plants in the Philippines, is a good indicator that this kind of profession will be needed in the near future, and that one doesn’t have to leave the country to practice this profession.

According to  Lao-as, mining engineering is one of the highest paid professions now-a-days. Current entry level salary would average from P40 thousand to P50 thousand a month. In other countries, licensed mining engineers are paid an average of US$ 3,000 to US$5 thousand every month.

European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) executive vice president Henry Schumacher said that prospects for mining metals and mineral ores are growing throughout the ASEAN, a region that is already established as a leading world producer in several key areas.

The Philippines, with estimated mineral resources valued at some US$850 billion, holds vast potential, he said. This includes possibly the world’s third-largest gold-ore deposits, the fourth-highest copper reserves, fifth-largest nickel and the sixth-biggest chromite-ore deposits.

This is in addition to large-scale resources of iron ore, bauxite and rare earth minerals, such as titanium, vanadium and molybdenum, as well as cobalt.

In the first quarter of 2013, the mining and quarrying subsector in the Philippines contracted by 17 percent. The country remains globally competitive in terms of its geology, but fails to take advantage of this due to inconsistency in policies and implementation, Schumacher stressed.

He said, the business community supports retaining the existing Philippine Mining Act, complemented by the implementation of an internationally competitive fiscal regime to provide a stable regulatory environment that will increase investor confidence.

The Philippines also needs conformity of local ordinances to national policies, as well as respect for vested interests under existing agreements, if it wants to make use of its potential, Schumacher added.

Loa-as said one of the priority programs of PSEM this year, is to beef up its scholarship program, in order to drum up interest of mining engineering profession in the Philippines.

On the other hand, in a separate interview with The University of  San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) president Enrico Peter A. Silab, he said that the university is boosting its engineering department, after noted a jump of engineering enrollees in the last few semesters.

Silab, announced that the university is currently forging different partnerships with industry players, universities abroad, including its collaboration with the USJ-R Alumni Associations.

Likewise, the university is also requesting the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) to revise its existing curriculum that will incorporate technology update, such as simulation, design, among others.

Compared to nursing, ICT (Information Communication Technology) courses enrollees, Silab said enrollees for engineering courses have gone up significantly in the last few semesters, this is because the job market is dictating a continuous demand for engineers regardless of economic condition. /JOB (FREEMAN)