The Philippine Overseas Labour Office in Doha has cited a steady demand for Filipino workers and professionals in Qatar despite the current diplomatic crisis in the region. Speaking to Gulf Times, Philippine labour attache David Des Dicang said they continue to receive several manpower requirements from different recruitment agencies in the country just like in the previous months.
“We see a good demand for Filipino workers especially in the service sector,” he noted. “For household service workers (HSWs), the demand has always been there.”
Apart from hotel staff, customer service representatives, and restaurant employees, among other categories, Dicang added that more nurses and other medical staff, school teachers, doctors, dentists, accountants, engineers, architects, and other professionals are also expected to be recruited in the coming months.
The recent lifting of deployment ban on Filipino workers to Qatar by the Philippine Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) also paved the way for the smooth processing of applications and the sending of newly hired workers to the country.
DOLE’s move is also expected to see the deployment of 28 new teachers and 20 bus drivers of Philippine School of Doha besides the 51 new teachers of the Philippine International School in Qatar.
Citing the strong bilateral relations between the Philippines and Qatar, the labour attache expressed optimism that the demand for Filipino professionals and several categories of workers will substantially increase in the coming months. A “good number” of Filipino professionals and skilled workers have been deployed to Qatar early this year and in the previous months, according to Dicang.
He said many companies from various industries in the country prefer Filipinos because of their competence, positive attitude and skills.
With the increasing number of medical facilities such as hospital and clinics in Qatar, Dicang noted that the demand for nurses and other medical staff is also expected to rise. In general, he stressed that “there is a continuing demand for nearly all categories of workers,” from skilled, semi-skilled, low-skilled and professionals.
Meanwhile, in his advisory to DOLE, Dicang said the Qatari government guaranteed the safety of around 240,000 Filipino expatriates in Qatar and “affirmed that they have the ability to withstand any possible economic shocks from the diplomatic impasse with its neighbouring Arab countries.”
According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the number of Filipino expatriates deployed to Qatar in 2016 substantially increased especially during the first quarter compared to the record in 2015.
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