Image by trontnort via FlickrBy SAMUEL MEDENILLA
September 22, 2010, 11:26am
MANILA, Philippines — The Canadian province of Manitoba will be hiring about 8,000 Filipino workers annually starting this year until 2016, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said on Tuesday, during a signing of a renewed agreement with Canadian dignitaries at Makati City.The overseas Filipino workers (OFW) will compose about 40 percent of the 20,000 job requirements, which the local government of Manitoba plans to fill by 2016 due to its expanding markets. The remaining 60 percent of the job orders will be sourced out to other countries like Germany, India, China, Korea, Israel, and Ukraine.
Among the jobs which are in demand in Manitoba are in the field of finance, construction, manufacturing, mining, health, agriculture, and hotel and restaurant.
“We hope that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) will increase the protection of Filipino workers being deployed to Manitoba, and facilitate their recruitment and hiring process, which in turn would enable the Philippines to get a bigger share of the projected demand of Manitoba,” Labor and Employment Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement.
Aside from the job order, the MoU, which was first signed in 2008, will also focus on the skills assessment of OFWs which will be deployed in Canada, promote their welfare, and speed up the processing of their visas.
“Our governments have worked together over the past two and a half years to make it easier and safer for skilled Filipinos workers to find jobs and settle in Manitoba and we look forward to continuing this important partnership, Province of Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger said in a statement.
Assistant Deputy Minister of Manitoba Labor Immigration Ben Rempel said that the Canadian government gave particular preference to Filipino immigrants since they already have the necessary skill requirements. Another factor was the existence of a large Filipino community in Manitoba, which will be able to assist new Filipino immigrants during their period of adjustment in Canada.
“You have workers who speak English and are adaptable to working in the international environment. So I think the Filipinos will remain very well positioned to take advantage of the economic opportunities that are starting to rebound in our jurisdictions like in Manitoba,” Rempel said.
Rempel said that aside from having the lowest unemployment rate and highest employment of immigrants, Manitoba also has the most advanced legislation protecting the rights of its laborers, which will be attractive for OFWs.
“Workers from the Philippines will know when they are offered a contract by Manitoba employer that contract will be honored,” Rempel said.
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