Call center training for OFWs in HK

The pilot class for a call center training program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong will start on May 4. This was announced by Acting Labor Secretary Marianito D. Roque, as he prepared to leave HK on Apr. 2, after accompanying President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on her three-day working visit to the territory. According to Roque, the training will be provided by the Vocational Training Centre in HK, in accordance with a memorandum of agreement to be signed with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office here. "Kailangan muna, may MOA. But naka-set up na yung training centre," said Roque. The VTC will also assess whether the applicants have the potential and the qualifications to finish the course. An initial batch of 60 students will be admitted to the 20-hour course, which will run for an hour every Sunday. To qualify for the course, one must have a valid OWWA membership, at least a high school graduate, must have completed at least three 2-year contracts, not more than 40 years old, and should pass the VTC's assessment. According to Roque, there are 400,000 Filipinos working in call centers, with each earning no less than Php15,000 a month. If an OFW gets accepted for such a job, there should be no reason why he or she would still opt to work abroad. Also in the pipeline, says Roque, is animation training for OFWs, where the earning potential is even higher. He said the starting salary for animators in the Philippines is about Php50,000 a month, and the demand is high. But he admits one must an inherent talent for the job. "Without that, it's going to be difficult," he says. Roque also disclosed details of the plan to open OFW wards at government hospitals across the Philippines. He says the first such ward will be opened at the Philippine General Hospital, but that President Arroyo "wants it replicated in Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Baguio and Iloilo." But he hastened to stress that the facility will be open only to OWWA members, who must also have Philhealth membership. -- Daisy CL Mandap, The Sun-HK