POEA says there’s still jobs abroad

 

MANDALUYONG CITY–Despite the low demand for female applicants in South Korea, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said there are job opportunities overseas for both male and female workers in various countries.

With more than 85,000 job offerings listed in preparation for this Wednesday’s Labor Day, POEA deputy administrator Liberty Casco said that female applicants should not be discouraged from applying overseas.

“In job fairs such as what we are going to conduct [on the eve of Labor day], we don’t usually categorize whom to prioritize first,” Casco told The Filipino Connection. “It’s more about the qualifications of the applicant and the requirements asked for by the employer.”

Casco added that the applicants vying to apply for certain positions in the country or overseas may be hired upon application depending on the skills they guarantee their employer.

“The job fair was meant to provide job opportunities to everyone, especially to the (fresh) graduates and the currently unemployed,” she said. “(But) they have to qualify in the position they are applying for.”

The POEA, says the agency’s 2012 accomplishment report, deployed 1,778,056 migrant workers. Total newly-hired workers reached 458,487, while the rest (975,926) are re-hired for overseas work. The said report did not break the total deployment figure by gender.

The 2012 deployment figures were higher than the 2011 total of 1,687,831 says POEA’s 2011 statistical compendium –resulting in a spike of 5.34 percent.

However, Casco said the POEA still discourages female applicants eyeing for work in South Korea. Recently, the POEA temporarily suspended the registration of women workers through the Employment Permit System (EPS), a government-to-government hiring system between the Philippines and Korea. This is because of low demand for women workers in Korea,  but not for male workers.

“It would be a waste of time and effort for female applicants to still pursue South Korea despite having little or no chances of landing on the job they are applying for,” Casco said.

In preparation for the labor day, POEA, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and licensed overseas employment agencies will have a job fair tomorrow at Camp Sevillano Aquino in Tarlac City. About 55 agencies will be offering more than 85,000 job openings to all Filipinos nationwide.

On Labor Day, the government will be providing 75,000 job opportunities from different agencies which will open in SM Manila, SM Megamall and SM City North Edsa.

The country continues to reel for high unemployment levels, currently at 7.1 percent (as of January 2013 results of the quarterly Labor Force Survey). As well, President Aquino, upon his installation as president nearly three years ago, said that homeland job generation –not overseas employment– is a priority of his administration.

with reports from Jeremaiah Opiniano

 

 

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