Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Marianito Roque has assured that there are more than a sufficient number of jobs for workers in the country as well as for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) displaced by the global economic slowdown.

Roque said in a radio interview that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s emergency employment program alone can generate more than 200,000 jobs.

Under the program, all government agencies are ordered to set aside 11.5 percent of their savings so that they can hire temporary workers and thus help offset the effects of the global financial crisis.

Roque also said that the administration's emergency employment program will start in April, immediately after completion of its guidelines.

According to him, the government employment opportunity figures could further skyrocket as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) intensifies its own employment program which calls for the hiring of around 500,000 temporary workers who will be deployed to the agency’s various priority infrastructure projects nationwide.

”The challenge now is not finding sufficient jobs for our displaced workers numbering around 40,191 individuals, but insuring that their skills are sufficient for their new jobs,” the DOLE chief said.

If the displaced worker does not feel like working locally, Roque said some 500,000 job vacancies exist overseas, which they can avail of provided that they pass their prospective employers’ qualification standards.

He also said that the DOLE is already taking steps to insure that the workers will be more than fit to handle the tasks in their source of livelihood through the assistance of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The DOLE chief added that displaced workers interested to become entrepreneurs are advised to register into the government’s livelihood assistance program wherein qualified individuals are provided with sufficient funds and expertise so that they can set up their own mini-businesses and help other acquire gainful employment.

Roque explained that the national government has provided close to P65 million to help about 3,000 workers start their own business.

He also said that the DOLE has provided employment referral assistance to about 12,000 displaced workers and helped another 3,000 others become beneficiaries of its livelihood assistance projects.

He advised displaced workers interested to avail themselves of these services to go to the nearest DOLE field office or visit the Phil-Job net website for information regarding new job vacancies.

DOLE, Malacañang and over 150 land-based and sea-based recruitment agencies recently organized a forum to fast track efforts in helping displaced Filipino workers find jobs overseas.

Roque said the forum on overseas employment was part of national efforts in job generation and job preservation, which are being pursued intensively to cushion the impact of the global economic downturn on the people.

He also said that the overseas employment forum complemented an earlier presidential initiative, the Job Summit dubbed as "Joining Hands Against the Global Crisis," which drew together labor and management and other stakeholders in Malacañang last February 9 to tackle measures aimed at preserving jobs for Filipino workers and addressing the problem of unemployment caused by the global economic crisis.

"The DOLE is at the frontline in these initiatives as it strengthens its readiness to deliver services to the workers which include helping them find jobs whether locally or overseas," Roque said.

He said that for the overseas employment forum, the DOLE mobilized and gained the support of the recruitment industry in the efforts to place Filipino workers in productive jobs abroad. (PNA)

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