.2-M job openings for Filipino teachers available in US soon

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga - The US Embassy has informed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that some 200,000 job openings could soon be available in the United States for Filipino teachers of math, science, and English.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma disclosed this at a press briefing during his dialogue with the Good Samaritan Foundation for the Disadvantaged Inc. here the other day.

He said US Ambassador Thomas Hubbard informed him about these "potential" job openings for Filipino teachers.

But Laguesma cautioned prospective applicants against illegal recruiters, urging them to coordinate with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) or regional DOLE offices.

"When such news (of job openings abroad) comes out, there are often illegal recruiters out to take advantage," he said.

He said the DOLE is also looking into the requirements for job openings for nurses in Italy "to prevent people from being victimized by illegal recruiters."

Canada and the United Kingdom are also expected to take in health workers soon.

Laguesma admitted, however, that overseas employment "is one aspect of our job that we are most uncomfortable with because of many attendant problems."

He said undocumented and illegally recruited workers are mostly the ones encountering problems abroad.

He said the demand for Filipino seafarers abroad is expected to rise because of their proficiency in English, while demand for domestic helpers will remain.

Laguesma said the DOLE is now addressing overseas employment concerns such as the nationalization policies of countries employing Filipino workers.

Meanwhile, he cited the need to make the Clark international airport fully operational for the sake of about 70 percent of overseas Filipino workers who come from Northern and Central Luzon.