'RP lacks qualified workers to fill Mideast job orders'
MANILA, Philippines - There might be thousands of jobs available in the Middle East but the Philippines supposedly does not have enough qualified workers to fill these vacancies.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has earlier claimed that there would be more than 200,000 new jobs for skilled and professional Filipinos in the Middle East and North Africa for this year alone.
Kuwait reportedly offered the most number of jobs at 39,169 followed by UAE with 39,128; and Saudi Arabia with 31,097. Libya, along with other Arab and African states, came in with 21,517; Oman, 11,356; and, Bahrain, 3,446.
Arroyo said the new job opportunities were created after Philippine labor officials and representatives of companies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as managers of agencies involved in the recruitment and hiring of Filipino workers, signed an agreement to create new jobs despite the global economic crisis.
Despite several groups casting doubts on this announcement made by the President, local recruiters welcomed the possibility of more job orders abroad.
“They were at the jobsite, so it must be true. It’s a welcome development to the workers, industry, and the economy," said Lito Soriano, president of LBS-E Recruitment Solutions Corp.
He told GMANews.TV that he believes that there are actually many job openings in the Middle East – specifically in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Soriano expressed doubts, however, about the Philippines’ readiness to supply the qualified workers needed for vacancies in the Middle East.
“The situation is still the same. We don’t have enough qualified Filipino workers to fill the job openings," he said.
Soriano said that there is a pressing need for schools and students to focus on the really “employable" courses.
“It goes back to what I have been repeatedly saying, the education sector and new graduates should review their options," he said.
He said they should realize that 90 percent of job applicants accepted are the ones who have actually been previously deployed – meaning most new graduates are not hired because they do not have the right qualifications.
“Magandang mensahe ‘yan sa graduates [This is a good message to the graduates]," he said, adding that they should not be “pig-headed" and continue to delve in courses whose graduates have become unemployable.
Meanwhile, he urged the Philippine government to provide more information regarding the job openings to protect Filipino workers from what groups like Migrante International warned were “erring recruitment agencies" who might victimize them.
“[The Philippine government] should make sure that these supposed job openings would not be used by illegal recruiters in duping Filipino workers," he said. - GMANews.TV
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has earlier claimed that there would be more than 200,000 new jobs for skilled and professional Filipinos in the Middle East and North Africa for this year alone.
Kuwait reportedly offered the most number of jobs at 39,169 followed by UAE with 39,128; and Saudi Arabia with 31,097. Libya, along with other Arab and African states, came in with 21,517; Oman, 11,356; and, Bahrain, 3,446.
Arroyo said the new job opportunities were created after Philippine labor officials and representatives of companies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as managers of agencies involved in the recruitment and hiring of Filipino workers, signed an agreement to create new jobs despite the global economic crisis.
Despite several groups casting doubts on this announcement made by the President, local recruiters welcomed the possibility of more job orders abroad.
“They were at the jobsite, so it must be true. It’s a welcome development to the workers, industry, and the economy," said Lito Soriano, president of LBS-E Recruitment Solutions Corp.
He told GMANews.TV that he believes that there are actually many job openings in the Middle East – specifically in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Soriano expressed doubts, however, about the Philippines’ readiness to supply the qualified workers needed for vacancies in the Middle East.
“The situation is still the same. We don’t have enough qualified Filipino workers to fill the job openings," he said.
Soriano said that there is a pressing need for schools and students to focus on the really “employable" courses.
“It goes back to what I have been repeatedly saying, the education sector and new graduates should review their options," he said.
He said they should realize that 90 percent of job applicants accepted are the ones who have actually been previously deployed – meaning most new graduates are not hired because they do not have the right qualifications.
“Magandang mensahe ‘yan sa graduates [This is a good message to the graduates]," he said, adding that they should not be “pig-headed" and continue to delve in courses whose graduates have become unemployable.
Meanwhile, he urged the Philippine government to provide more information regarding the job openings to protect Filipino workers from what groups like Migrante International warned were “erring recruitment agencies" who might victimize them.
“[The Philippine government] should make sure that these supposed job openings would not be used by illegal recruiters in duping Filipino workers," he said. - GMANews.TV
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