Private construction hit by worker shortage

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), November 21, 2016

MANILA, Philippines – Shortage in construction workers is weighing down private building activities nationwide, real estate consultancy firm Colliers International said.

In its latest report, Colliers said labor shortage is becoming a threat to private construction in the Philippines.

“Colliers believes that private construction could’ve been more robust if not for construction delays brought about by the lack of adequately-skilled workers,” it said.

“The intensified development of public infrastructure projects around the country will exacerbate this problem,” Colliers said.

Private construction in the country posted a 16.2 percent growth in the third quarter of the year behind sustained appetite for office and retail developments, it added.

The property consultancy firm said the demand is mainly fueled by a continuously growing IT-BPM sector and rising purchasing power of Filipinos.

According to Colliers, the completion of new office and retail space continues to thrive in key growth areas outside of the country’s capital such as Clark, Cavite, Laguna, Cebu, and Davao.

In Metro Manila alone, Colliers reported an estimated 86,000 square meters of new office space that was delivered during the period, almost double the 45,000 square meters completed in the same period last year.

“Developers are responding positively to the growing demand for office space, with bulk of the new supply being absorbed by IT-BPM firms,” it said.

To address the growing threat of labor shortage in private construction, Colliers is urging developers to take a more aggressive approach in partnering with the government’s skills development agency in providing training to available manpower from the countryside.