Demand for OFWs seen growing among Philippine employers

MORE Philippine employers are recruiting overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for leadership roles, offering attractive pay and bonuses, recruiting firm Robert Walters Philippines said.

“One growing trend we’ve seen is companies sourcing talent to fill leadership roles through our Balik Bayan campaign, which connects companies with skilled Filipino professionals based abroad with valuable, overseas work experience,” Alejandro Perez-Higuero, director at Robert Walters, said in a statement.

Robert Walters said in its Global Salary Survey 2024 that the shift in demand is due to the projected growth of shared service centers in the Philippines with more international companies establishing hubs in key cities like Metro Manila and Cebu.

“With more shared services centers sprouting up in the country, Robert Walters expects that this will drive higher demand for business heads to lead the hub,” Robert Walters said.

“This trend will also lead to the increasing demand for Filipino professionals with overseas experience in leadership roles,” it added.

Robert Walters said that employers view workers with international experiences as helping drive innovation and competitive advantage as the businesses become more globalized.

“The structure of such centers and the talent that leads them will have a greater impact on business operations in the region,” it said.

“In 2024, companies will also invest more on automation and digitalization.

They will look to develop and use technologies that can help them lower costs, and raise productivity and efficiency,” it added.

As a response to the growing demand, Robert Walters said that employers now are poised to offer substantial salary increases.

In its survey, Robert Walters found out that employees with niche skill sets can expect an average of 15%-25% salary increases, while job movers with niche skill sets can expect up to 30%. —