RP, British Columbia to Finalize Guidelines on OFW Employment, Deployment

Assistant Deputy Minister Mike Carter of the Ministry of Technology, Trade, and Economic Development, Executive Director of Canada’s Labor Market Development Mark Gillis, and other officials of the Canadian Province of British Columbia will arrive in Manila Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008, to help Canadian employers find needed skills and finalize the proposed guidelines on the employment and deployment of overseas Filipino workers to British Columbia.

Minister Carter will subsequently meet with Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque at the Department of Labor and Employment in Intramuros, Manila.

Roque said the Canadian team would collaborate with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in the conduct of a pilot recruitment project wherein three Canadian companies are set to interview applicants already pre-screened by Philippine licensed recruitment agencies based on the qualification criteria for the required positions provided by the employers.

The employers participating in this recruitment mission need hotel workers, food counter attendants, and long haul drivers. Other types of skilled workers will be needed for the succeeding recruitment by British Columbia companies and establishments.

The DOLE Chief said the outcome of the project would serve as inputs to the discussion of the proposed guidelines on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the DOLE and the Province of British Columbia concerning human resource development and deployment of OFWs to British Columbia.

The priority concerns for discussion include recruitment procedures, employment contracts, British Columbia-specific orientation package, identification of skills requirements, criteria for employers and sending agencies, and HRD mechanisms.

The MOU was forged in January this year to provide for cooperation in the fields of labor, employment, and human resource deployment and development between the Philippines and British Columbia

Roque said the MOU’s working committee consisting of DOLE officials and representatives of the Labour Market Development led by Executive Director Gillis will convene and discuss the proposed framework on the MOU’s implementing guidelines during their visit.

“We aim to finalize the implementing guidelines to facilitate the recruitment and deployment of OFWs to British Columbia in accordance with the MOU between the DOLE and British Columbia,” Roque said adding “ this is to ensure that OFWs bound for this Canadian province are accorded ample benefits and protection.”

At the same time, the Canadian team led by Michael Chew, manager of the Provincial Nominee Program, will conduct briefings on the British Columbia nominee program for the participating recruitment agencies and applicants.

The team is also scheduled to visit the TESDA Women Center in Taguig City, the hospitality department of the Lyceum of the Philippines in Intramuros, and the Department of Trade and Industry in Makati City.