More women now interested in the embalming profession

The growing demand for embalmers or professional morticians abroad, have pushed some Filipino women to take interest in this field, as an additional skill for care-giving services.

Philippine Embalmers and Morticians Association (PEMA) president Sarah Dychangco said that more women have now appreciated learning embalming especially those who have already taken caregiving courses in preparation for work abroad.

Dychangco, who is also the president of the Pacific Center for Advanced Studies (PCAs), the first formal embalming and mortuary training school in Asia Pacific, said more women are now taking advanced studies on embalming, to gain employment advantage abroad.

She said there is a good demand for embalmers and morticians especially in New Zealand and Australia.

Embalming skill has now become an extended service in the entire care-giving industry. Caregivers abroad, who have skill in embalming, have greater advantage for huge income, as this kind of service pays higher than the usual care giving works.

Next to nurses, and care givers different countries have emerged to need sizeable number of professional Mortician or Embalmers, and Filipinos could take advantage of this as the sought-after care givers in the world, Dychangco said.

Aside from New Zealand and Australia, there is also a good opportunity for this kind of skill in the northern part of United States, specifically in Canada.

Last year, Canada announced that it needed about 200 professional Embalmers are needed, because of the declining number of people who are choosing to be in this field. Like bankers, this profession is also paid decently with a minimum of 30,000 Canadian dollars a year.

“If nurses, [and other care givers] are in demand, so with embalmers,” said Jeff Chancellor a professional embalmer, crematory operator from the United States, in an earlier interview.

According to Chancellor, is it important for the Philippines to improve the quality of education in the mortuary industry, so as not only to develop good professional Embalmers here and export their services abroad, but also to provide world-class service to the Filipinos.

Chancellor mentioned that the US government has recently opened employment opportunity for skilled embalmers through a guest worker program, because of the declining supply of care givers for dead or Morticians.

In the Philippines though, this opportunity can be take advantage of with the presence of the PCAS, the first internationally accredited school for mortuary and funeral services in Asia Pacific. – Ehda M. Dagooc