OFWs in Saudi, Qatar urged to return to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is undertaking a supply-demand profiling of Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar to enable those wanting to return home to find jobs in the Philippines.

In an administrative order, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III directed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) to conduct the skills profiling for job matching.

The POEA and BLE, Bello said, would hold employers’ forums and list down the number of vacancies, skills requirements and geographical locations of workers’ homes and companies.

The two agencies will process the supply and demand profile before coming out with labor market information that will serve as guide for matching of available skills and employers’ demand for workers.

Bello said the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) in Saudi Arabia and Qatar will undertake the preliminary skills profiling with the help of the DOLE’s International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB).

According to Bello, the DOLE is also mounting a job fair to lure OFWs in the two countries in the Middle East to return home for a chance to get employed locally.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is extending free skills training for workers who will be needing skills upgrading.

Meanwhile, TESDA is urging women to take up “non-traditional” technical vocational courses like construction, welding, plumbing and automotive.

Yesterday, TESDA held the 2018 Manila Tradeswomen Conference to promote Gender and Development (GAD) and encourage more women to join non-traditional trade.

About 300 women delegates from the Sisters in the Building Trades, BWI, TESDA Women’s Center graduates and trainers joined the event.