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58 SMT Magazine • December 2015 by Stephen Las marias i-ConnECT007 I recently interviewed Arthur Tan, chairman of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI), about the associa- tion, its main goals and vision, and how it helps members in their journey to become global play- ers in the electronics manufacturing industry. Stephen Las Marias: What is seipi's basic mission? Arthur Tan: The basic mission of SEIPI is to pro- vide an organization or community for all the different companies, directly and indirectly re- lated, that are involved in electronics, semicon- ductor, and electronics manufacturing in the Philippines. It's a way to be able to provide a voice to talk to the government to help define policies in order to provide further growth for the industry—the direct and the most immedi- ate effect of which is being one of the largest dollar export generators for the country. There's also the direct employment that the industry does for the country. That's another mission of the association, to further provide inclusive growth for the country, since we are one of the few industries that can actually hire high-school graduates into our operations. The requirements for us to hire is wider in terms of the need of the country for employment. So from high school graduation, even if you don't have a college degree, or even if you're just in college or you had some post high-school pre- paratory college units, you can already join our workforce. Then the industry provides specific training. SEIPI aims to provide a voice for all the dif- ferent companies that are involved in this in- dustry; to be able to provide inclusive growth through direct employment, especially for one of the largest demographics of the country; and then of course, to provide a sustainable business environment for the country. Las Marias: please tell us about your events. SEIPI: Fueling Companies' Transition to Global Players FeATure inTerview