Skills development and reintegration: Christmas and life-time gift for OFWS

THIS holiday season, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is expecting more than 100,000 OFWS to return home for the holidays or for good. Many of these OFWS and women migrant workers were displaced by COVID or are unsure of their future job prospects abroad, or reintegration opportunities back in the Philippines.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the displacement of millions of OFWS since 2020, demonstrating the risks and precariousness of working abroad and being away from family. The continuing threat of Omicron and other possible new variants have only made these challenges even starker. In the Philippines, families of OFWS also face the economic and employment difficulties resulting from the pandemic. These are made worse by disasters, and the stronger and more frequent destructive weather events, like the latest Typhoon Odette (Rai) which wiped out the houses, investments, and livelihoods of tens of thousands, including families of OFWS.

As part of the reintegration, skills development, and employment support for women migrant workers, including the millions of OFWS displaced or repatriated due to the pandemic, the Safe and Fair Philippines - a partnership between UN Women and the International Labour Organization (ILO) - together with the ILO Women in STEM Workforce Readiness and Development Programme, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration-national Reintegration Center for OFWS (OWWANRCO) jointly launched in 2020 the #Womenofwscandoit scholarship programme.

Those who are eligible for the full scholarship are women OFWS (abroad, returnees, or just preparing to leave), or their family members. The TESDA courses are conducted fully online or in blended mode. These are offered every semester, and scholars are also given daily allowances and insurance. The scholarships prioritize (but are not exclusive to) women, to increase their choices, options, and opportunities in the fields of science and technology (IT/STEM), and other technical-vocational jobs that help break gender stereotypes (e.g., computer programming, web development and design, food production, events management, driving, bookkeeping, etc.) Successful graduates earn officiallyrecognized National Certificates (NC) or Training Certificates (TC) that can be used as credentials in applying for work locally, overseas, and even online.

“Reskilling and upskilling services particularly in IT/STEM -related occupations offer a viable resiliency strategy to prepare and improve the difficult situation many women OFWS face today. This has become even more critical in response to the massive displacement caused by COVID, the ensuing economic crisis, and the gender stereotypes and challenges that OFWS face in pursuing jobs outside domestic work,” affirmed Linartes Viloria, National Project Coordinator, ILO Women in STEM.

The #Womenofwscandoit scholarship programme is currently offered across the National Capital Region (NCR) and Region 7. Since its launch in 2020, more than 900 women OFWS and family members have availed of the scholarship and graduated. Plans are underway to roll out in more areas nationwide by next year.

“We highly encourage our returning kababayans to take this opportunity to avail of our TESDA courses in information technology, STEM, events management, bread and pastry production, and many more,” said TESDA-NCR Regional Director Florencio Sunico, Jr. “We offer immediate and concrete solutions for self-improvement that are safe, financially viable, and will help prepare you for whatever the future brings in the new normal.”

“This scholarship really changed my life,” said Evelyn Caballero, an OFW in the United Kingdom who graduated from one of the courses. “I was working as a nanny in the UK and was planning to go back abroad. When I got hired for a BPO, I got the opportunity to work here in the Philippines. Now I’m on the path to financial stability. I can provide for my family needs and there’s no need for me to take another flight to work abroad. No need for me to go away from my family.”

Visit and follow the Safe and Fair Philippines Facebook page. Go to the Babaeng Biyahero website for more information.