Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 16) — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday said it is seeing more demand for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as it projects this year’s deployment to exceed the 1.2 million recorded in 2022.
“We are not just on track but we definitely will surpass the deployment figures of last year,” DMW Sec. Toots Ople told CNN Philippines’ The Source. “We see an increase in the number of our OFWs both new hires and rehires and also we are looking at a rebound in the number of seafarers being hired abroad.”
She noted that from January to April alone, around 800,000 land-based and sea-based OFWs were deployed abroad.
In demand jobs include those in the sectors of healthcare, construction, and hotel and restaurant management in countries like Saudi Arabia and Croatia, she said.
Other nations like the UAE, and Canada have a big demand for medical professionals, she added.
The Migrant Workers secretary said more countries are also expressing their willingness to sign a bilateral labor agreement with the Philippines like Hungary and Oman.
Ople earlier said the department expects the number of deployed OFWs to hit pre-pandemic levels in 2023, with the total number seen to reach the two-million mark.
While there is a demand for Filipino workers, especially for nurses, Ople said she wants to have a dialogue with relevant agencies to come up with solutions on how to encourage these professionals to work in the Philippines.
“It will take a whole of government, whole of society approach,\” she said. \”To stay here would be the most attractive choice because their families are here… We need to create opportunities for them to stay and look at quality of life issues.”
