CLARK FREEPORT -- Home- and internet-based jobs are among the best career alternatives for displaced overseas Filipino workers and those returning to the Philippines for good.
The Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Singapore conducted a webinar for some 80 OFWs that tackled about the best alternative jobs available for displaced workers.
"Virtual career allows one to work at the comfort of home, earn different currencies and serve different businesses," said webinar resource speaker Ann Kristine Peñaredondo, who is a marketing strategist and published author.
She said that virtual careers sometimes create misconceptions, doubts, and fears as they are novel and have not been fully explored yet by many people.
Admitting that virtual careers are not for everyone, Peñaredondo, however, noted that many of those who chose to go into these careers became successful.
Former OFWs Lyn Nafarette and Tina Lanipa shared how they successfully shifted to virtual careers, which allowed them to earn as much as when they were working overseas while staying and spending time with their families.
Peñaredondo added that writers, accountants, bloggers, advertisers, bookkeepers, coders, software engineers, illustrators, videographers, and many other skilled professionals can build their virtual careers if they wish so.
Labor Attaché Saul De Vries underscored the relevance of the webinar in light of the ongoing global pandemic, which has been causing the displacement of thousands of OFWs in Singapore and other countries.
"Virtual careers are alternative options for those who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 as well as those who do not want to work away from their families," De Vries said.
Meanwhile, ILS Executive Director Ahmma Charisma Satumba said that virtual careers provide vast opportunities for OFWs and other workers as the market for virtual work is open, wide, and deep.
The webinar, which revolved around the topic "Pano maging OFW ng hindi lumalabas ng 'Pinas?" (How to be OFW without leaving the Philippines?) was also streamed live on Facebook with thousands of views.