NEWS

Norway, Qatar, Now Hiring Filipino Engineers, IT Experts
24 July 2009

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Marianito Roque revealed that Norway and Quatar have opened their doors to Filipino engineers and information technology (IT) experts who are seeking for employment.

Appearing before the House Committee on Oversight last July 13, 2009, Sec. Roque said that there are 125,000 jobs for engineers in Qatar as of now but the Philippines has only supplied 26,000 workers because there is not enough engineering graduates to qualify for the jobs. Thus, there are still 99,000 job vacancies for engineers and IT professionals who will work for construction, oil, and gas fields.

On the other hand, Norwegian companies are looking for graduates of civil, mechanical and electrical engineering courses and are offering salaries ranging from $5,000.00 to $7,000.00 per month. What's more, jobseekers can avail of a jobseeker visa from the Norwegian embassy. This will allow them to enter Norway, look for a job, and directly apply there. The jobseeker visa will allow Filipinos one-year grace period to find jobs.

The Labor Secretary stressed that this is a good setup since it will allow Filipino professionals who are looking for employment to choose the best workplace when they are in Norway.

With such developments, Sec. Roque advised students to enroll in technical courses since graduates of these courses, like engineering, face job opportunities with the same competitive salaries offered to medical staff. He predicted that in the next five years, graduates of technical courses, especially engineering, will have a brighter future.

For more information on how to avail of the Norwegian jobseeker visa, contact the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Manila at (632) 886-3245 to 49, email visa.manila@mfa.no or visit their website at http://www.norway.ph/

To search for available jobs in Qatar, visit the government-owned jobsite, http://www.phil-job.net/ or go to http://www.poea.gov.ph for a list of accredited recruitment agencies that have job orders for Qatar.

Trabaho.com. thanks its following sources:

Mamanglu, Shianee, Manila Bulletin. Career opportunities for Engineering, IT in Norway. (Posted July 20, 2009)
http://mb.com.ph/articles/211883/career-opportunities-engineering-it-norway

Porcalla, Delon, Philstar.com. Demand for nurses down, technical jobs surge – DOLE
(Posted July 14, 2009) Retrieved July 20, 2009 from
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=486659&publicationSubCategoryId=205

Manalastas, Jester,People's Journal. Jobs abroad (Posted July 14, 2009) Retrieved July 20, 2009 from
http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2009-07-14&sec=4&aid=98165

Dalangin-Fernandez, Lira, INQUIRER.net. Norway open to Filipino workers—labor chief (Posted July13, 2009) Retrieved July 20, 2009 from
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/region/philippines/view/20090713-215241/Norway-open-to-Filipino-workerslabor-chief