Thursday, September 27, 2007 Ledesma: One need not be jobless By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
IF ONE listens to the ministrations of politicians it would seem that the future is bleak and that only the opposition can save us from kingdom come. The negativism is infectious and this shuts off the windows of opportunity from the many who had indulged in carping and whining and whining failed.
The opposition took negative stand on the exodus of Filipinos who found employment abroad. At this time and age when geographic boundaries are practically dismantled and restrictions of movements of people are lifted and communications seamless the sloganeering of the opposition is actually misplaced. You would notice that nobody is listening. Truth to tell, the desire to work abroad is a universal phenomenon and predates the modern era.
Thus, I would credit the Arroyo administration for succeeding in rationalizing the OFW program. While in the past remittances of OFW workers were coursed through clandestine channels and conduits which diminished the true value of the money they remitted to their families, under the Arroyo administration these monies arrive intact and the cost of money transfers reduced to the barest minimum.
These days, if you are from Davao wanting a job in Cebu or in Manila it's not different from going to Australia or Canada. The difference is only in the amount of compensation and I need not elaborate on that.
Today, even if one is an undergraduate, the window of opportunities of landing a job abroad is as wide as the sky. That is why President Arroyo has placed top priority on the operations of Tesda. My perception is that she has made it her personal crusade to reach out to as many unemployed and undergraduate youths that she confidently believed are trainable.
Don't you know that there are thousands of blue collar jobs, outside of the traditional and domestic helpers, that are wanted in Australia and Canada to name just two countries?
Because of the quality of graduates that Tesda had churned out, these countries have requisitioned for thousands of employable skilled workers under the Tesda program.
Nowadays, Tesda have opened up scholarships for undergrads to train in bartending, barista (coffee bar tending), welding and even butchering?
I was amazed by the number of Tesda graduates landing various jobs in Australia, Canada and the Middle East too. I found it incredible. So I sought out Tesda Information Officer Mafel Negrido-Gamale and found out from her that the rumor I gathered was in fact true!
Mafel said that the grant for scholarship from Tesda for anyone interested to land in any blue collar jobs is virtually limitless. She said that President Arroyo has personally guaranteed that those interested will have a scholarship grant.
Then I found out that GMA actually released P500 million for the program last year and finding out that this was successful, she again released another P500 million this year.
College dropouts should stop listening to the prophets of doom and pause a little while to see what's out there that Tesda can do for them.
I think too that we should revisit the deployment of our domestic helpers. Not a few teachers sought employment in Hong Kong and Singapore as domestic helpers when they could actually qualify as private tutors with salaries three to four times the pay for the DH! I found this out last December and March when I went to HK and Singapore.
So there you are. Maybe, the next time we deploy workers we should look at the other skills of our OFWs. They might be worth more than what they thought the value of their skills and talents are worth.
BTW, the tourism people are busy drumming up promotions to make Davao City a veritable tourist destination. DOT Regional Director Sonia Garcia is busy steering the program. Today, Thursday, they have another road show, at SM Davao Entertainment Center. Check that out. (For feedback, e-mail me at scledesmajr@yahoo.com.)
