POEA: No job openings in Australia, NZ, Japan

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration is warning the public that there are no job vacancies in Australia, New Zealand and Japan right now.

Recent POEA advisory states that it is not recruiting Filipino workers for the three countries. However, Australia and New Zealand are accepting skilled Filipino immigrants but not through POEA.

The POEA also said that Japan and the Philippines have not yet finalized the agreement on the hiring of Filipino caregivers and nurses.

Meanwhile, the Korean and Malaysian governments are now giving tests to foreign workers on their languages and cultures as part of the requirements in hiring foreign workers.

The POEA recently announced that effective September 1, all qualified applicants to the Korea Employment Permit System shall be required to pass the Employment Permit System-Korean Language Test before they can be included on the list of jobseekers.

The agency said that the EPS-KLT should be a requirement to foreign applicants who meet the minimum requirements of age, education, work experience, fitness to work, and are not restricted to enter Korea, which had opened its doors to foreign workers, especially Filipinos, last year.

The Department of Labor and Employment has authorized POEA to implement the KLT, in cooperation with the designated Korean test agency, the International Korean Language Foundation. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority will assist POEA in the administration of the KLT.

The Ministry of Labor of Korea has designated the International Korean Language Foundation as the only test agency to give KLT to EPS applicants in the Philippines.

Applicants who have registered with POEA and whose names were already in the EPS Roster of Jobseekers before September 1 do not have to take the KLT.

The Malaysian government also announced that Filipinos who intend to work in their country would now be required to attend a 10-day induction course and pass a 90-item written test on Malaysian laws and culture, including basic communication in Malaysian workplaces.

DOLE said that Malaysia has come up with the new policy to help foreign workers avoid problems on Malaysian laws, languages and cultural norms.

Those who pass the test will be listed in the Roster of Passers and granted a Certificate of Eligibility. Only those with CE will be granted the corresponding work visa.

DOLE said the policy is applicable to foreign workers who will arrive in Malaysia starting November 1. These workers will be required to attend an orientation course to be conducted by their Malaysian employers. - Gregg M. Rubio and Wenna A. Berondo