2,000 jobs await Filipinos in Croatia

Over 2,000 jobs are up for grabs this year in Croatia in Europe for foreign workers to fill their labor gaps in the hospitality sector, the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI) announced on Friday.

According to PASEI, they needed qualified applicants to fill up vacancies for 2,000 foreign workers under the hospitality sector such as waiter, room attendant, and assistant cooks.

PASEI also announced that Croatia needs high-skilled construction workers such as masons, welders, at plumbers.

However, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) earlier said that they might cut down the deployment of construction workers abroad by as much as 90 percent to mitigate the shortage of construction workers in the country.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III noted that the construction industry has appealed to the DOLE to temporarily cease deploying construction workers because they are experiencing manpower shortage.

PASEI president Elsa Villa said that they would follow the order of DOLE.

"Kung ano ang order nila we have to follow but 'yun nga itong oportunidad na ito sayang kung isasara mo 'yan because there is really a great need and our people, you cannot stop them from going," Villa said.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) also said that they will temporarily combine the "missioncritical skills" or jobs that are required for day-to-day operations with the construction workers in the Philippines.

However, POEA clarified that they will not prohibit construction workers who wish to go abroad.

"Mag-i-issue ng appropriate resolution ang POEA through the Governing Board so that magkakaroon tayo ng clear policy guideline," POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said.

"Ang instruction sa atin immediate eh, immediate so as we speak we are already working on it," he added.