“We now plan to hire retired English teachers to train applicants who could be employed by these firms once they are found to be proficient in the English language,” said Clark Development Corp. (CDC) chairman Jose de Jesus in a forum here.
De Jesus lamented that even college graduates are no longer conversant with English.
Many of the unfilled positions in various firms in this freeport include call centers and business processing and outsourcing firms that require knowledge of English.
At one time, a call center firm here had planned to recruit socalled hospitality girls working in nightclubs catering to foreigners along nearby Fields Avenue in Angeles City because of their ability to speak in conversational English.
The lack of English- proficient applicants had given rise to “pirating” of personnel among some firms here by offering them better pay and benefits.
De Jesus said retired English teachers could now apply at the CDC for the training of applicants for the 9,000 job vacancies.