SLUMP IN OFW HIRING FEARED TO LAST FOR YEARS

SLUMP IN OFW HIRING FEARED TO LAST FOR YEARS: "SLUMP IN OFW HIRING FEARED TO LAST FOR YEARS MANILA, NOVEMBER 5, 2007 (STAR) By Mayen Jaymalin - Despite the global demand for highly skilled workers, local recruitment industry leaders yesterday warned that fewer overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are likely to get hired abroad in the coming year. Recruitment industry leaders said the slump in hiring of Filipino workers this year may continue in the coming years due to government�s effort to take over the recruitment of workers from private sector. This, even as there are expectations that remittances from OFWs will double to about $21.4 billion in the next three years. Jackson Gan, Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan (PILMAT) president, said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) does not have sufficient manpower and expertise to handle the recruitment of hundreds of thousands of Filipino workers. �The government, particularly the POEA, does not have the capacity to handle the recruitment of the large market in the Middle East which could lead to lower deployment in the coming year,� Gan said."