There has been news lately that many people getting scammed and recruited because of job opportunities in the UK. These job opportunities are via the internet and DOLE has warned Filipinos to be very careful. Full story below:

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today warned Filipino workers and Philippine recruitment agencies against recruiters offering jobs in the United Kingdom through email, particularly those requiring applicants to send money as payment for visa and work permit in the light of UK regulations which require personal filing of visa applications at the British Embassy in Manila.

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque issued the warning in the wake of the proliferation of fraudulent recruitment through the Internet offering non-existent jobs in the UK.

Roque said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in London has recorded more than 200 emails from job applicants and recruitment agencies in the country requesting for verification of the legality of the job offers they received through the Internet.

He said the applicants received job offers through email with scanned appointment letters, work confirmation, and employment contracts from their supposed UK employers with instruction to the applicants to contact specified travel agencies, immigration firms, and solicitors in the UK who would purportedly assist them in the processing of their work permits and visas.

He said the applicants were subsequently asked to remit a sum of money to a certain account as payment for their work permit, visa processing, and other fees.

He said the job offers were found to be fake, deceptive, and illegal as all visa applications will now be filed at the UK Visa Application Centre of the British Embassy in Manila, adding the application should be done personally by the applicants.

He also said that travel agencies, immigration consultants, recruitment firms, solicitors or barristers, and other agents in the UK are not authorized to act as sponsor of applicants. Neither can they process or apply for working visas in the UK in behalf of the applicants.

Roque likewise noted that even recruitment agencies in the country have been enticed to take recruitment offers in the Internet and to advertise vacancies in their behalf for manpower pooling.

He cited a case involving the Global Logistics & Trading Shipping Co., which posted its job orders and interview schedule at www.workabroad.com.ph under Primeworld Manpower Agency. He said the POLO in London found that Global Logistics is not a licensed UK firm.

London-based Labor Attache Jainal Rasul Jr. also advised Filipino applicants that based on the new UK Points Based System (PBS), only highly skilled professionals would be eligible for work visas in the UK, unless the positions are included in the shortage occupation list.

At present, most of the available semi-skilled, and low-skilled jobs in the UK are no longer open to non-Europeans, particularly in hotels, restaurants, food catering, retail business, construction and manufacturing.

For visa application under the new PBS immigration rule, a work permit is no longer a requirement and has now been replaced by the new sponsorship system. This means that the UK Border Agency (Immigration Office) no longer issues work permits for entry visa purposes.

In place of the work permit, the UK Border Agency issues sponsorship license to UK employers who in turn sends the ‘certificate of sponsorship’ to their qualified candidates or applicants as a requirement for online visa application at the British Embassy in Manila.

Source: Information and Publication Service

We have posted in this site that DOLE has been recruiting a lot of unemployed nurses and helping them land a job abroad. The fruit of this recruitment now comes to the stage of training these qualified nurses before letting them out into the world. NARS (Nurses Assigned in Rural Services) conducted the training of these qualified nurses and the full story can be read below.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said unemployed nurses who will be hired under the NARS (nurses assigned in rural service) program will be trained to perform public health functions and the necessary clinical tasks to enhance their employability in local hospitals and eventually in medical centers overseas.

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said the NARS program is a training-cum employment scheme wherein the hired nurse-trainees will be trained not only in providing basic health services to needy folks in rural areas but also in performing clinical functions under the guidance of participating hospitals and other medical facilities in areas where the nurse-trainees will be assigned.

Roque said the Department of Health (DOH) would identify the hospitals and other medical providers that would participate in the NARS program and at the same time formulate the program’s training module and related learning and development activities in close coordination with the Board of Nursing (BON) of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC).

He added that the DOH would also closely supervise the training of the nurse-trainees whose competencies would later be assessed by the PRC-BON, thereby, ensuring that the trainees are equipped with the essential skills and knowledge for employment locally and eventually overseas.

Roque also specified that the NARS program is not a waste of taxpayer money saying that on the contrary, the program would serve the people in areas where medical services are mostly needed. He added that it would also serve as the nurse-trainee’s jump-off point for a full-time job in local hospitals where they can gain the necessary experience that would later qualify them for employment overseas.

The NARS program was launched by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the Multi-Sectoral Summit on “Joining Hands Against the Global Crisis” held recently in Malacanan Palace in line with the pump priming strategies aimed at mitigating the impact of the global financial crisis on Filipino workers.

The program aims to address the (1) glut in inexperienced nurses, (2) the proliferation of “volunteer nurses” working in hospitals without being paid, (3) promote health of the people, and (4) bring government services closer to the grassroots.

Nurses will be deployed at an average of five per town in the 1,000 poorest municipalities, for a six-months tour of duty. Completion of the training program under NARS program will be considered as a substitute for the work experience requirement of hospitals and other health facilities.

Roque said the nurse-trainees will be jointly issued the Certificate of Completion by the DOLE, DOH and PRC, adding that while on training, the nurses will be given a stipend/allowance of P8,000.00 per month.

The DOLE Chief, nonetheless, urged local governments to support the program by offering additional allowances to nurse-trainees assigned in their localities. He also appealed to corporations to chip in by providing shirts, insurance, vitamins, etc.

Unemployed registered nurses who are physically and mentally fit and willing to serve in their hometowns and who meet the following requirements may qualify for the training cum employment under NARS: a) with valid nurse license issued by the PRC b) not over 35 years old c) resident of the identified municipalities d) no nursing-related practice for 1-3 years.

Roque said qualified applicants may apply online at http//www.nars.dole.gov.ph, or at the nearest DOLE regional office from 23 February 2009 to 31 March 2009.

Nurse applicants who are children of workers affected by the global crisis will be given priority in the selection, he said.

souce: Information and Publication Service

For more details and where to apply, please refer to the article Job openings in Japan.

Filipino nurses and caregivers are wanted this year in Japan.

As part of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement or JPEPA, the hiring program will begin with the initial recruitment of 200 nurses and 300 caregivers. (The JPEPA has been ratified by the Senate and took effect last December.)

The nurses will be receiving a salary of around US$1,600 or around P76,000 a month, but they must have a three-year work experience.

Caregivers, on the other hand, are set to receive an estimated $1,200 or P57,000 a month, but they must be graduates of a four-year course.

Applicants shall be required to undergo an aptitude test and interview.

After selection, they must pass the required medical examination where applicants have to pay the basic fee of P1,500 as well as visa fee which is P1,150.

The airfare and on-site training costs shall be shouldered by the employers in Japan.

The selected candidates must undergo a 6-month language and culture training in Japan.

During the training, candidates shall receive an allowance of more than P21,000 a month.

Caregiver Lorie Lynn Arellaga speaks fluent Nihonggo after she worked for many years as an entertianer in Japan. At the outset, it would seem she has the advantage. Unfortunately, she isn’t qualified since she only finished the required 6-month course in caregiving in the Philippines. She is also not a college graduate.

“Kung ganun din lang, sa iba na kami mag-aaply–Dubai, Saudi, London…sana babaan naman ang standard nila,” Arellaga says.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) says they will study the agreement after a year and propose adjustments.