The Philippine government aims to give overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) the opportunity to venture in other fields that may give them better working conditions and higher salary.

For this reason, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Hong Kong signed a memorandum of agreement with the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) there. The VTC would handle and conduct the trainings for OFWs in Hong Kong.

Accoding to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary, Marianito Roque, the first training will be a call center training program which is scheduled to begin on May 4.

The call center training program is a 20-hour course, which will run for an hour every Sunday. Initially, only 60 students will be admitted to the course.

Those who wish to avail of the training will go through an assessment exam to be given by the VTC. The VTC needs to evaluate if the applicants have the potential and the qualifications to finish the course.

Requirements for Training:
Valid OWWA membership

At least a high school graduate,

Must have completed at least three 2-year contracts,

Not more than 40 years old,

Pass the VTC's assessment.

The labor secretary said that an estimate of 400,000 Filipinos are employed in call centers and they earn a minimum of Php15,000 a month. If an OFW gets hired by a call center company, working overseas would hardly be an option

Roque also mentioned the plan to conduct an animation training for OFWs. The animation industy offers higher salary. In the Philippines, starting animators are offered as high as Php 50,000 a month and the demand is high. However, Roque acknowledge the fact that one must an innate talent for the job. "Without that, it's going to be difficult," he says.