The global market offers many attractive opportunities for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The excellent skills and positive working attitude of OFWs make them in-demand worldwide. However, from time to time, we would hear news of maltreated OFWs and apparently female OFWs are more vulnerable to abuse or maltreatment. For this reason, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said that they hope to deploy more male OFWs in 2012.

 In an article that appeared in GMANews.tv, the POEA chief Carlos Cao Jr. said that the government agency plans to hire more male OFWs and decrease the number of female OFWs. They are hoping that by doing this, the cases of abuse and the “social cost” of labor migration would be lessened.

Cao said in the GMANews.tv interview, “We believe the social cost of labor migration can be more substantially diminished if there are more male OFWs – more fathers landing jobs overseas – than women” he said.
 

The POEA chief particularly wants to lessen the number of Filipino domestic helpers abroad.

He said, “I wish to see that mothers should stay in the country to take care of their brood and not to rock the cradle of different nationalities.”

According to POEA data, women OFWs comprised more than half of the total number of new hires in 2010. This means that out of more than 341,000 new OFWs this year, 185,000 are women.

Of the 185,000 female OFWs deployed, 135,000 fell under the “Service Workers” category. This job category includes domestic workers and caregivers.

  
The POEA chief said that overseas job prospects remain good for male OFWs in 2012.

Cao said lots of overseas jobs are waiting professionals like engineers and semi skilled and non-skilled for 2012. Highly skilled workers such as construction workers would be in-demand in Australia, Guam, and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Japan and Europe may hire caregivers.