DOST and DTI Conducts Metals and Engineering Industry Roadmapping for the Province of Southern Leyte

The Participants Together with the Organizers and the Speaker

The province of Southern Leyte have always regarded its metal and engineering sector as one of its focus industries and have continually took part in the programs initiated to further its development. As part of this extensive effort, the Southern Leyte Provincial Science and Technology Center (PSTC-Southern Leyte) in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry-Southern Leyte (DTI) and Metal Institute Research and Development Center (MIRDC) conducted training on roadmap for the metal and engineering sectors in the province of Southern Leyte. The training was conducted last June 11, 2013 at Villa Catalina, Maasin City.

The training was attended by twenty-three participants from micro and medium sized enterprises which are engaged in the fabrication or welding sector. Some of the participants were SETUP beneficiaries of PSTC-Southern Leyte such as the Cabadbaran J&B Welding Shop, Marte Technova Inc. and Saavedra Welding and Repair Shop.

The training generally aimed to educate local fabricators and welders on the status of the metal and engineering sectors in the country as well as to create and foster the linkages necessary for stronger network within the industry. The activity was under the umbrella of collaborative efforts of several business and government sectors to boost the overall state of the metal and engineering industry in the province.

The highlight of the training was the presentation by Dr. Agustin M. Fudolig, Deputy Executive Director of MIRDC, entitled the Roadmap of the Philippine Metals and Engineering Industry”. Dr. Fudolig explained to the participants the pivotal roles of the roadmap in the direction of which the industry will take for the next few years. The information gathered in the roadmap will serve as inputs for the national comprehensive industrial strategy. It will also serve as a guide in conceptualization of the annual IPP as well as serve as the aid in defining the government strategies for trade and investments.  He also talked about the Metal Industry, giving general overview on the industry structure and gave statistics on the M&E Industry geographic distribution. Data shows as having NCR with highest concentration of M&E related businesses (624 shops per area).

Giving of Certificate by DOST and DTI Personnel

After the presentation, an open forum was done to get the feedback of the participants regarding activity and the learning they had from it. There was a positive reception of the participants on the roadmap project as a whole. An appreciation was also given to the organizers by the participants on their effort of creating an initiative to increase their knowledge on the industry that they play in and bridge the connections amongst their fellow industry players.

Training on Value Engineering is being considered to be added in the pipeline as response to the success of this initiative.