More job hunters looking overseas

CEBU, Philippines - More people from the Visayas are looking for jobs abroad, this is according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency comparing figures this year to 2008.

According to the latest records of the POEA, the first six months of this year showed a greater number in the deployment for other countries coming from the Visayas with a 13.11 percent increase from last year.

Almost 15,702 employment contracts have been submitted to the office from January to June this year. For the same period last year only 13,881 contracts were passed.

POEA-7 legal officer Imelda Lerida said that the fifteen thousand new Overseas Filipino Workers are first-timers and does not include those who have already worked abroad which according to her is almost the same number.

Lerida said that they have already processed 14,064 OFWs who would like to go back abroad under their “Balik Manggagawa” program. This was also processed in the first six months of this year which also showed an increase from last year’s 12,146 returning OFWs or a rise of 15.8 percent.

Most of the new and returning OFWs come from Cebu, said Lerida.    

Most of the applied jobs are those of skilled workers like construction workers, welders, medical professionals such as nurses and caregivers and domestic helpers as well.

“In spite of the global financial crisis, OFWs are still in demand abroad which only shows that Filipinos are world-class competent workers very much appreciated by foreign employers,” Lerida added.

Meanwhile, an overseas and local jobs fair will be held on August 22 at the Cebu International Convention Center, which is being organized by the Cebu provincial government.

Lerida said that they expect more applicants to avail of the job opportunities especially those who have been retrenched due to the financial crisis.

         The jobs fair will be participated by 35 POEA-accredited recruitment agencies.

Further, Lerida said that last April, 35 caregivers and nurses from the Visayas alone were hired and sent to Japan under the government-to-government agreement between Japan and the Philippines.

She said that there will be a new batch but still does not have an exact date as to when the interviews will be. — AJ de la Torre/BRP   (THE FREEMAN)