MANILA, Philippines – The demand for nurses abroad has started to decline, while opportunities for graduates of technical courses like engineering are on the rise, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday.
“There are 125,000 jobs for engineers in Qatar as of now but we only supplied 26,000 because we don’t have enough engineering graduates to qualify for the jobs,” Labor Secretary Marianito Roque told reporters after attending a congressional hearing on the accomplishments of President Arroyo from the time she delivered her State of the Nation Address last year.
Roque said engineers face job opportunities with the same competitive salaries offered to medical staff.
He said the DOLE could hardly meet the demand for Filipino engineers, information technology experts and other jobs requiring technical skills in Qatar for construction, oil and gas fields.
With this in mind, he advised students to enroll in technical courses.
“In the next five years, graduates of technical courses, especially engineering, will have a brighter future. We already have so many nursing graduates,” Roque said.
He also revealed that Norway has opened its doors to Filipinos who are graduates of civil, mechanical and electrical engineering courses and is offering salaries ranging from $5,000 to $7,000 per month.
“There are countries like Norway that are open to Filipino jobseekers. Our directive is to continue bilateral talks with other countries to assure the welfare of our workers. They prefer Filipinos because of our discipline,” added Roque.
He likewise said that the country has reduced the number of domestic helpers being sent abroad and more professionals are being deployed now.
“In Norway, they prefer Filipinos than workers from India and Pakistan because we are disciplined, we can speak English and we can easily adapt to the other country’s culture,” Roque explained.
He also advised graduates to consider working in the call center industry which is an expanding business in the country. –Delon Porcalla, Philippine Star
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
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