Govt exploring more markets for OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - Amid recession in the United States, the government is exploring more markets that have demand for skilled Filipino workers, Dennis M. Arroyo, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director for policy and planning, told reporters in a briefing Thursday. "There’s a need for rapid deployment of OFWs...to new or strong markets. Deploy them where there is demand," he said. Besides more countries in the Middle East which he said need a wide variety of skills like engineers, architects, and interior designers — besides the usual construction workers — Mr. Arroyo cited alternative emerging labor markets like South Australia, New Zealand and Guam. He added that changing demographics in the US and UK are necessitating influx of foreign nurses. "About 30% of the population of Britain is aging in 2010. There’s also a huge shortage of nurses in the US," he said. Latest data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) show that the number of Filipino workers employed abroad increased by 27.7% to 1.377 million last year from 1.078 million in 2007. For 2009, the government has said that total OFW deployment would still reach at least one million. "We don’t see it going down by 1 million," said Mr. Arroyo. But University of the Philippines economist Benjamin E. Diokno said such a strategy is "mindless," given the condition of the world economy. "It ignores the unpleasant fact that the recession is global," Mr. Diokno said in a phone interview Thursday. "Migrant workers would be facing a more hostile environment. Encouraging Filipino workers to go abroad to seek jobs under this kind of harsh environment is cruel," he added. Still, University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations professor Rene E. Ofreneo agreed that the Middle East offers some of the best opportunities, so far, for Filipino workers. "Instead of embarking on expensive marketing missions, the POEA should instead focus on the Middle East, because that is our biggest market and is the region most likely to turn around earlier," he said. Mr. Soriano also said that the POEA needs to provide the right information to the public. "Before more nursing schools set up and more nurses graduate, they have to know that we are no longer sending that many nurses abroad," he warned. — B. V. Buco, Jr. and E. N. J. David, BusinessWorld