ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI), automation and green technologies are reshaping jobs in the country’s ocean economy, prompting the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) to push for more technical and higher-value work for Filipino workers.
The Philippine ocean economy generated P1.08 trillion in 2025, equivalent to 3.8 percent of gross domestic product, while providing jobs to 2.46 million workers, according to government data cited by Dole.
Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino said AI, green shipping, low-carbon fuels, and modern shipbuilding and repair are changing the skills required across the maritime sector.
That shift is opening opportunities beyond traditional manual work, including marine engineering, ship design, vessel retrofitting, and ship repair.
‘Growing the maritime industry requires investments that create well-paid jobs, technology transfer, expertise, and access to higher education opportunities,’ Tolentino said.
‘We need partners who are willing, able, and patient to help us build these capabilities here in the Philippines and not abroad,’ he added.
The push comes as the country seeks to strengthen its position in an ocean economy that covers seafarers, fisherfolk, coastal communities, shipbuilders, ship-repair workers and other workers linked to maritime activities.
The Philippines is recognized as the world’s fourth-largest shipbuilding and ship-repair nation, putting the sector in a position to generate more specialized employment as technology changes production and vessel operations.
However, for workers, the expansion also raises the need for skills development alongside the creation of new jobs.
Dole’s Maritime Labor Affairs Office has been consolidating services for maritime workers, including legal assistance, conciliation, dispute settlement, workers’ education and employment services.
The agency is also supporting implementation of the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers through maritime conciliator-mediators, labor arbiters and voluntary arbitrators.
‘Rights must not remain in promises written in law,’ Tolentino said.
‘They must be understood, accessible, and enforceable, regardless of a worker’s financial capability,’ he added.
Dole is also using its Trabahong-Dagat program under Tupad to provide temporary employment to fisherfolk and coastal communities during closed fishing seasons and periods affected by seasonal or climate-related disruptions.
As the ocean economy becomes more technology-driven, the labor agenda is increasingly tied to whether Filipino workers can gain the specialized skills needed to move into higher-value maritime occupations, Tolentino also said.