Recruiters push
for more
money for skills training
IN a bid to shield overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) from losing their jobs or their chance to get
hired in the wake of the widening global financial crisis,
recruitment firms are calling for additional funds for
subsidized training programs under the Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
Federated Association of Manpower Exporters
vice president Jackson Gan urged the government to move quickly
to avoid the spiraling effect of the economic emergency that
began in the US. "The government can avoid the effects of a
looming world recession by moving quickly to fill up more than
300,000 skilled jobs in the Middle East and other Western
countries like Canada and Australia," Gan said.
"The lack of experienced manpower for the
vacancies above should be the government’s first priority as the
country continues to receive hundreds of thousands of job orders
for professionals and skilled manpower," he added.
Gan said there is a need for government to
allocate at least a reserve of P1 billion to P2 billion for the
massive training program for skilled positions. He said these
could be sourced from the P30 billion additional tax revenues
earned in 2008.
Recruiters also called on legislators to establish regional
training centers from their pork barrels for their constituents.
Gan said the most in-demand workers in other countries remain to
be welders, electricians, machinists, mechanics, nurses and
healthcare workers. – Gerard M. Naval
