Senator says 17,000 jobs await Filipinos in UK

Filipinos could avail for more than 17,000 job openings in the United Kingdom (UK), Senator Joel Villanueva announced on Sunday.

"The [UK] has generously offered us a variety of job opportunities fit for our world-class skilled workers," Villanueva said after meeting with UK officials.

Villanueva said the UK is looking for civil engineers, foremen, nurses, caregivers, computer programmers, cooks, bookkeepers, and cashiers.

Villanueva gave a salary estimate for the UK job openings: civil engineers (P139,000/month), nurses (P113,000/month), caregivers  (P61,000/month), cooks (P350/hour), and bookkeepers and cashiers (P286/hour).

"This is the best time for our fellow kababayans looking for employment abroad to grab this opportunity," he added.

Job vacancies for Filipinos were discussed during the senator's meeting with Philippine ambassador to the UK Antonio Lagdameo and several officials from the European country's business sector.

"I believe our country possesses a highly-skilled workforce that are very much qualified to meet the international standards and fill in the demands of the global job market," said Villanueva, who chairs the Senate committee on labor and employment and human resources development. —Margaret Claire Layug/ALG, GMA News