Mayen Jaymalin
Philippine Star
More and more foreign employers are coming to the country to recruit Filipino workers despite the prevailing economic crisis.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) yesterday reported that a group of Australian employers is arriving in Manila to discuss hiring of additional Filipino workers.

“We are meeting soon with employers from Australia who have expressed their desire to hire an initial batch of 10,000 workers next year,” POEA chief Jennifer Manalili said in an interview.

Manalili said she was informed that the Australian government is embarking on a 15-year construction and rehabilitation that will require a huge number of workers.

“This will be a big employment opportunity for our skilled workers because the construction job will take 15 years to complete,” she said.

Manalili added that Australia would need welders, pipe fitters and other types of construction workers.

“The employers will be coming to personally recruit workers starting in January,” she said.

Meanwhile, local recruiters reported that employment opportunities also await Filipino professionals in the United Kingdom.

Recruitment leaders said British Ambassador Peter Beckingham himself announced that UK is in need of foreign workers, including Filipinos.

He said the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) seeking employment in UK has continuously risen and had already reached about 200,000.

Most of the OFWs in UK are employed in the healthcare industry as nurses, caregivers and chefs.

Just recently, the British Borders and Immigration Agency (BIA) released the national shortages occupation list which include engineers, doctors, nurses, and teachers, among others.

A Study and Work Program, which began in 2007, has enabled more than 500 Filipino nurses to enter and work in UK.

A similar program is now available for Filipino engineers, accountants, and information and technology experts as well as hotel and tourism workers.