DOLE: More young workers leaving the country

MANILA, Philippines – More young workers are leaving the country to seek high paying jobs abroad, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said government data indicated that a big bulk of the million Filipino workers deployed annually to various countries were those belonging to the 15 to 24 years age group.

“Youth are estimated to comprise about 35 percent of all OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), which means that these young people are among the contributors of dollars to our economy,” Baldoz said.

She, however, said the data showing the high number of young OFWs do not reflect the social cost of migration, including the increasing number of high school dropouts due to lack of interest to finish school and becoming overly dependent on dollar remittances.

The labor chief noted that many young people are being lured by their OFW parents to join them overseas without realizing that they are exposing them to human trafficking and other risks of migration.

To address the problem, Baldoz said the government will soon launch a three-year program dubbed Youth and Employment Migration (YEM) which aims to improve youth employment and migration policies and increase the access of youth to decent jobs.

Based on data from the National Statistics Office, there are more than 18 million young Filipinos. Of the number, 6.8 million are employed while 1.46 million are unemployed.

According to Baldoz, the high unemployment rate among the youth is due mainly to their lack of skills, educational attainment or experience.

Baldoz said education is the best way to decent employment, thus the government is exerting all efforts to help as many young Filipinos finish secondary education and pursue either vocational or technical courses.

“As an alternative to wage employment, young Filipinos need to embrace and embark on entrepreneurship at an early age,” Baldoz said.

DOLE then urged parents not to allow their children to go abroad until they have finished the needed education and for the private sector to undertake programs providing better employment for young workers. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)