Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 16) — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said it is eyeing a program with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) that will be dedicated to the hiring of one million workers to be deployed to Saudi Arabia.
“We need to talk to TESDA about it and put together a special hiring program na doon nakatutok for (that is focusing on) Saudi Arabia,” DMW Sec. Toots Ople told CNN Philippines’ The Source on Friday.
The Migrant Workers chief said in May that Saudi Arabia is targeting to hire about one million Filipino skilled workers in 18 to 24 months.
According to the secretary, some of the in-demand jobs in Saudi are in the sectors of healthcare, construction, and hotel and restaurant.
Meanwhile, Ople said Saudi Arabia is keen on resolving the issue of unpaid wages of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were formerly employed by companies there that went bankrupt.
Ople said authorities there have formed a committee that focuses on settling the issue. The fund to be used to pay the salaries is also with the Ministry of Finance, she added.
