Online pre-employment seminar for OFWs set

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the government’s lead agency that generates and promotes decent overseas jobs and protects overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), has recently partnered with JobStreet.com, to bring the Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar (PEOS) to the online platform, a breakthrough innovation that can help many Filipinos dreaming of working overseas.

Originally, PEOS is a seminar that serves as the initial step when pursuing a job overseas. However in 1993, this requirement has evolved from being a welfare intervention for departing OFWs into a major strategy to prevent illegal recruitment. The seminar is also currently being conducted in POEA’s 16 training venues across the country, therefore limiting the reach of the seminar’s information to those who can’t afford to go to the designated venues.  

Now, with this new e-facility developed by JobStreet.com, hundreds of thousands of other Filipinos will have fast and easy access to training materials and resources that will help them in the decision-making process prior to their application for overseas work.  According to initial reports, PEOS Online hopes to certify 200,000 users by end of 2014 alone and majority if not all the half a million new OFWs will be able to take the PEOS online annually later on.

The new PEOS Online makes three promises to aspiring overseas workers—it’s fast, convenient and comprehensive. Packed with only eight modules, each module including the assessment test takes about an average of seven minutes to complete. Moreover, the increasing internet-savvy population can take the PEOS conveniently without even going to the POEA office for a PEOS session. Users can log on to www.peos.poea.gov.ph anytime at the comforts of their home, in an internet cafe, or even through their mobile devices to experience PEOS almost similarly to as if they were doing it inside the training room. Finally, the seminar’s online version boasts of comprehensive self-training modules that highlight everything they need to know about working overseas such as the application requirements and procedures, as well as POEA services using video clips and presentation slides.

The PEOS Online project is one of the many undertakings of POEA and JobStreet.com since the two organizations forged a partnership in February 2013 to communicate the POEA Anti-Illegal Recruitment campaign to jobseekers through online and offline channels.