Looking for better opportunities abroad? Countries in Europe are now the new in-demand places for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
Aside from the usual traditional markets of Middle East, Japan and Taiwan, OFWs can find new opportunities as thousands of workers are needed in European countries such as Hungary, Austria, Croatia and Poland.
The surging demand has put pressure on the local the private recruitment agencies to supply the hundreds of job orders accredited by the DMW through the labor attaches based on the countries previously mentioned.
Currently, more than 50,000 positions for skilled and healthcare professionals needed to be filled up in Europe, while Middle East has a backlog of 50,000 workers, Japan 30,000 and Taiwan 20,000 workers.
However, recruitment consultant and migration expert Emanuel Geslani said the Philippines cannot keep up with the supply of skilled workers due to lack of industries, weak construction projects and massive importation of goods and products which has killed local industries.
Meanwhile, Lito Soriano, Chairman of LBS Recruitment Solutions, noted that the supply of highly skilled workers like oil platforms engineers, oil riggers, welders and shipyard workers has dwindled due to the high demand for these highly paid positions.
Soriano added that qualified registered nurses are also difficult to recruit because these nurses prefer Western and European countries for permanent residency and higher pay.
“Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion-dollar construction projects and diversification of the economic activities have pushed demand for more Filipino skilled worker and steady demand for Household Service Workers with the price of crude oil prices keeping steady at $90 per barrel,” added Geslani.
Other Middle East countries like Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have also increased their demand for OFWs, notwithstanding a temporary deployment ban issued by the Philippine government to Kuwait.
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