AS much as 10,000 overseas Filipino workers are being eyed for hiring by Singapore, based on data from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Singapore.
In a statement, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople said that there are 10,000 job orders for OFWs from Singapore.
“Approved job orders refer to immediate manpower requirements given by Singaporean employers to the POLO that are expected to be filled up in the next few months,” said Ople.
Half of the demand, she related, are in the aviation industry, of which 5,000 aircraft technicians are needed.
Other jobs in demand are 3,000 healthcare workers in the medical industry, 1,000 skilled workers in the engineering industry, 500 workers in the education industry, and 300 workers in the information technology sector.
Ople said they expect the number to increase on the heels of the state visit of President Marcos Jr. to Singapore.
“Given the remarkable talent and dedication of our workers, we expect a surge in demand for OFWs,” added Ople.
Marcos visited Singapore from September 6 to 7 upon the invitation of Singaporean President Halimah Yacob.
Earlier, the two countries have already agreed to hold exploratory talks on the hiring and deployment of more Filipino medical professionals to Singapore under a government-to-government arrangement.
The bid of Singapore to hire more Filipino healthcare workers was formalized in a Joint Communique signed last Wednesday by Ople and Singaporean Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
“We acknowledge the recognition given by the Singaporean government to the dedication and professionalism of our health workers, especially at the height of the pandemic,” the DMW chief said.
“Singapore provides a good alternative to our health workers, who wish to work abroad but in a destination country much nearer to our homeland,” Ople added.
