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Traders told to tap OFW skills, not foreigners’


By Margaux Ortiz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:11:00 01/24/2008


MANILA, Philippines -- Their skills are honed in some of the world’s most complex enterprises, but when they come home, these overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) engage in businesses far from their expertise and many end up losers.

The common lament is that there are just no opportunities here, or if there are, little is known about the places where these engineers and technicians may fit in.

A newly formed group calling itself the Global Filipino Nation (GFN) is seeking to address this problem.

Instead of spending for foreign consultants, the business sector can tap these OFWs, said GFN spokesperson Jun Aguilar. He said the government should begin gathering data on returning OFWs to harness their potential as specialists and experts.

Dairy desalination

Aguilar noted that the world’s biggest desalination plant in the industrial city of Jubail in Saudi Arabia and the largest integrated dairy farm in Riyadh, also in Saudi Arabia, were manned by Filipino engineers and technicians.

“Imagine how productive it would be if we could bring these Filipinos home to replicate the technology in the country,” he said.

Given the right opportunities, the returning workers could contribute their expertise to help the country, he said.

Aguilar gave as an example engineers in their 50s and 60s who have decided to come home from the Middle East upon their retirement.

“These engineers are often treated like they have nothing useful to contribute anymore,” said Aguilar, himself an engineer who worked in Saudi Arabia.

“Instead of paying thousands of dollars to hire foreign consultants, companies should seriously consider maximizing the use of these returning OFWs,” he said.

For more, check out http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080124-114397/Traders-told-to-tap-OFW-skills-not-foreigners



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