More jobs seen for non-nurses

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has advised students and workers to consider taking health-related courses other than nursing.

“With the continued glut of registered, yet, unemployed nurses, alongside with the recent developments highlighted by nurse-volunteerism in hospitals and institutions, I encourage students and workers to look at other healthcare professions if they want to get employed quickly,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

Baldoz issued the statement as the new batch of successful examinees of the July 2011 Nursing Licensure examination further increased the surplus of nurses in the country.

The labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on Sunday listed nursing as one of the five heavily oversubscribed college courses.

“The huge oversupply of graduates of these programs has made it exceptionally difficult for them to sell their skills to employers,” said Ernesto Herrera, TUCP secretary general.

Baldoz, meanwhile, pointed out that there are other job opportunities in the health and wellness industry besides nursing.

“The Health and Wellness industry has been identified by DOLE’s Project Jobsfit as one of the 12 key employment generators that will provide more employment opportunities,” Baldoz stressed, adding that the industry has the potential for absorbing the most number of Filipino workers in the next 10 years.

The Labor chief said that other careers under the industry, such as optometry, physical therapy, pharmacy, medical technology, clinical and internal medicine, surgery, and radiology wellness massage and spa/massage therapy are occupations that are expected to propel more employment opportunities both local and overseas up to 2020.

“These kind of careers are in-demand not only in hospitals, but also in laboratories, clinics, health maintenance organizations, public health agencies, pharmaceutical firms, research institutions, scientific equipment companies, physicians’ offices, and schools offering clinical laboratory science programs. Indeed, their licenses can bring them to greater heights and greener pastures,” Baldoz said.

She also advised students to check the summary information of all health-related courses in the career guide section posted at the Bureau of Local Employment website at www.ble.gov.ph.

The career guide contains a series of occupational briefs or summary information about hard-to-fill and highly in-demand occupations to aid students in planning their university courses and workers who would like to shift careers.

“By educating students, workers, with the current labor market information, we are giving them the right signals to direct them towards careers with high employability,” Baldoz said. –ROMMEL C. LONTAYAO, Manila Times