Hiring of OFWs to UK slows down -- expert

Due to migration from EU countries

By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
Posted date: June 26, 2007

MANILA, Philippines -- The hiring of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the United Kingdom has slowed down due to the increase of migrants from new member-countries of the European Union, a recruitment expert said Monday.

However, Emmanuel Geslani, a consultant to various recruitment agencies and organizations, said Filipinos, particularly nurses and caregivers, are still preferred by UK employers.

“The employment outlook for Filipino health care workers in the United Kingdom still remains upbeat despite the slow issuance of work permit visas these past months,” Geslani said.

Citing records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, he said OFW deployment to the UK went down by eight percent from 18,347 in 2004 to 16,799 in 2005.

From 8,000 nurses and “senior carers” (usually midwives and nurses who have not yet taken or passed the board) deployed in 2004, he said, the deployment dropped to 6,000 in 2005 and 4,000 in 2006.

Mark Date, entry clearance manager of the UK embassy in Manila, confirmed both of Geslani’s observations.

Date said with the expansion of the European Economic Area to include Estonia, Latvia, and other developing east European countries, more qualified workers from these countries are entering the UK.

He said this effectively reduces the hiring of workers from non-EU countries, including the Philippines. “This affects all the nationals of non-EU countries, not just the Philippines,” he pointed out.

The UK official also confirmed the preference for Filipino workers, noting this is manifest in the UK’s recognition of the Philippine government’s nurse’s license.

At the same time, Date said a new point-based system (PBS) on immigration, similar to the one used in Australia and Canada, will start to be implemented starting early 2008. He said it is part of the overhaul of UK’s immigration policy “to service the needs of the British public.”

Date clarified, however, that the PBS does not include quotas for the hiring of working. “There is nothing currently with regards to quotas (in PBS),” he said, adding that quotas are only for those in the hospitality industry.