Sun.Star: Lack of jobs force Filipinos to go abroad

Filipinos will continue to leave for jobs abroad unless unemployment problem in the country is addressed. Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)-CAR Director Delfina Camarillo said the exodus of Filipino workers will continue until there are better paying employment opportunities locally. The lack of jobs in the country remains the major reason why Filipinos, professionals or not, leave their families behind to seek employment overseas. Those going abroad are either employed as household help, caregivers, or employed in service-oriented establishments, which officials say are the major demands in foreign countries. About 35 percent of those leaving the country are employed as household helps or household skilled workers, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) said, adding this sector usually has the most vacancies. Government, in a bid to narrow the job gap, is promoting technical and vocational courses as there are more local openings on technical skills locally. The Department of Education (DepEd) is also encouraging students to enter vocational courses. In a bid to professionalize the job, applicants for household helps are now required to undergo skills trainings, where they will be oriented on the culture and language of the country of their destination. This is a component of the household reform package program the government has adopted to protect the welfare of Filipino overseas employed as household helps. In Cordillera, the Owwa regional office recorded 10,864 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), employed in various job sectors abroad. - Sun.Star