Semirara takes in 400 new employees

Semirara Mining and Power Corp. said it had hired close to 400 employees for its mine site amid a push to increase coal output by one-third in volume.

SMPC said in a statement that the 387 new hires would fill key positions in its operations at Semirara Island, where the company wanted to bring up yearly production to 16 million metric tons in the next two to three years.

Last year, SMPC produced a record 11.9 million metric tons of the fossil fuel, the bulk of which was sold to local power and cement producers.

Victor A. Consunji, SMPC president and chief, said the thrust for expansion was in line with the government’s push for power supply stability, optimal energy pricing and modernized infrastructure.

Consunji said the company needed an additional 170 personnel for the mine site within the year.

Among the vacant positions on the Semirara Island mine site are dump truck drivers, backhoe and bulldozer operators, motor graders, water truck drivers, cadet engineers, staff auditors and staff nurses.

To meet the company’s talent needs, SMPC has started conducting inter-island job caravans, attracting job seekers from Semirara Island and nearby areas like Mindoro and Iloilo.

From the caravan alone, SMPC has hired 40 personnel or nearly 40 percent of the total number of applicants.

“We are grateful to our host community, the LGU and public sector partners for helping us with our recruitment efforts,” Consunji said. “With their continued assistance, we can provide more people with high-value employment.”