Thursday, September 11, 2008 RP very good source of manpower By Joy Romares-Sevilla
AN OFFICIAL of an institute of tourism and hospitality in Malaysia said the Philippines is a very good source of manpower, saying Filipinos are one of the best qualified manpower in Asia.
Dato Dr. Baha HJ Nordin, vice president of the Transair Vacation Training Centre based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said during Wednesday's edition of the Club 888 press forum that the Philippines is a very good source of manpower especially in terms of frontlines.
He added that Malaysia has a very big market demand in manpower, that's why they are tapping neighboring countries such as the Philippines as a source of labor resources.
"The Transair caters to 1,000 students from different Asian counties every year. For the next five years, the number is projected to increase by 50 percent," Nordin said.
He added that aside from Philippines, they are also catering to other markets such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
He said most workers in Malaysia are Indonesians.
Nordin was in Davao City on Wednesday for its forging of partnership with the Aces Polytechnic College for an International Hotel Exposure program.
The program will enable tourism students of the Aces to avail trainings in international hotels in Kuala Lumpur through the Transair Vacation Training Centre.
The students, who will voluntarily avail of the program, will be provided with free board and lodging in Malaysia plus allowances. The students have to pay US$600 for the training, which is good for six months.
Aces president and CEO Francisco dela Pena said this program provides graduates and students the opportunity to be trained in international hotels in Malaysia.
"We are furthering our education through exposing our students and graduates with this opportunity," he said.
He added that this tie up with Transair was made so that students and graduates will have an edge in looking for jobs here and abroad.
He added that students are also covered with international insurance aside from the insurance they will have locally.
Transair, for its part, said that the center is not only providing hotel employees in Malaysia, but also airline employees.
