Sen. Estrada urges DFA to tap Australia’s work and holiday program

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada on Thursday urged the Philippine foreign service to tap Australia’s Work and Holiday visa program to enable young Filipino professionals and job aspirants to be trained in Australia.

He noted that the Australian government has been expanding its work and holiday visa program to other countries but the Philippine mission in Canberra has not fully tapped the program.

In a statement, Estrada said that the Work and Holiday program would be an edge for the Philippines compared to countries who had not undergone such training.

Through the Work and Holiday program, students and workers between ages of 18 and 30 could subsidize their holiday vacation by getting experience and exposure in overseas work, wherein they would be trained for up to 12 months.

The visa quota for the program starts at the minimum of 100, and is increased every year.

Among the participating countries were Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Chile, Turkey, and the United States. Australia is finalizing its agreement with Bangladesh.

Estrada said these major developments in other countries “should serve as a wake-up call on our government to work aggressively to tap the program" and maximize its benefits for the younger workforce.

"However, our Mission in Australia has not yet maximized the program, which many countries have been benefiting from for a long time already," Estrada said. - Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV

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