40K repatriated OFWs undergoing BPO firms’ assessment

MANILA – An official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has reported that the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry continues its hiring process for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are now in the country.

“So far, the profiles we have given to the IT-BPM (Information Technology-Business Process Management) sector are about 40,000 repatriates and some of them have already been contacted,” Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said in a virtual press briefing on Friday.

She said the firms are conducting an assessment of the repatriates as part of the hiring process.

Tutay said the employment facilitation program is not only in the country but also abroad.

“This is part of our reintegration program and on top of that, we have livelihood or entrepreneurship programs for them. One of the developments is the directive of Secretary Silvestre Bello III to evaluate the labor market in different countries affected by Covid-19 and therefore anytime soon our labor attachés will also be providing labor market intelligence if it is safe or what are the skills needed from our OFWs,” she added.

She said, “these are the opportunities here and abroad that the DOLE is trying to create.”

Based on the DOLE’s latest data, almost 400,000 OFWs have been repatriated due to the pandemic.