SAUDI Arabia is looking to hire a million Filipino workers within two years, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said yesterday.
In a press briefing, Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople said the demand for workers is mostly from the hotel and restaurant industry, and the construction and information technology sectors.
“They are very happy as Filipinos are cheerful and reliable. They said that the hotel clients appreciate the services of Filipino workers in the hotel and restaurant industry,” Ople said.
Undersecretary Patricia Caunan said the hiring of a million workers is part of the Saudi Arabia government’s efforts to bring back the pre-pandemic numbers of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, OFWs in Saudi Arabia number at about 1.5 to 1.6 million.
“Currently, we are only at around 700,000 OFWs,” she said.
“They are hopeful that we will go back to what they consider as ‘normal number,’ which is over 1 million skilled OFWs,” said Caunan.
Asked if the country can deploy the number needed by Saudi, she said, “The 1 million in 24 months is very overwhelming. But, if we work together and prepare for it, we will be ready for that.”
Ople said the DMW is looking at having a “special hiring program specifically to address the labor needs of Saudi Arabia.”
“When we spoke to the private sector, the estimate is 1 million jobs for Filipino workers in 24 months,” she also said.
The DMW said a technical team from Saudi Arabia is coming to Manila on the second week of June to discuss the hiring program.
Ople and other DMW officials, on the other hand, arrived over the weekend from Saudi Arabia after holding a series of talks there.
To note, Saudi Arabia has long been the most preferred work destination of OFWs.
