Representatives of the sector highlight the DR as the most attractive country for investment in free zones in the LA region, which brings challenges to face in the future
Dominican Republic has been placed in category A among the most attractive countries in Latin America for investment in free zones. Resources are flowing and are exerting great pressure on the country in the training of qualified human resources and in the construction of industrial parks.
By participating as guests in the TODAY Economic Meetingthe president and vice president of the Dominican Association of Free Zones (Adozona), Luis José Bonilla Bojos and José Manuel Torresrespectively, said that the concern that this sector has is towards the future, because the great challenge is how they are going to solve it at the level of labor and training, as well as ceiling (ships).
They indicated that more than 85% of the investment in free zones registered in the country is foreign, which demands infrastructure and skilled labor.
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In this sense, they expressed that most of the free zone companies that are operating in the country have diversified the sector, which implies a greater demand for technical and administrative skills.
They explained that in 2006, 84% of free zone employees were workers, a figure that by 2021 dropped to 67%, while the technical went from 10% to 23% and the administrative one from 6% to 10%.
They highlighted that to contribute to the country having trained human resources, Adozona has created clusters by productive subsectors, in which training needs have been identified.
Having identified these needs, they have approached the universities and agreements have already been signed with some of these academic centers so that the pensums are adapted to the needs of the labor market. They appreciated the contribution of National Institute of Professional Technical Training (Infotep).
They also pointed out that there is a lack of bilingual human talent, which is why they highlight the importance of the English Immersion program developed by the Ministry of Higher Education Science and Technology (Mescyt).
Regarding infrastructure, they said that at present almost all free zone parks are full, that is why the construction of warehouses is needed for the installation of companies that are interested in operating in the country.
