The Tasks and Realities of Science and Technology Development

Vol. XIII

O

No. 2

March-April 1995

ne of the least discussed aspects of overseas employment is the human resource development (HRD) aspect.

This article focuses on the skills dimension of labor migration in relation to the growing demand by Japan, East Asia and Southeast Asia for skilled overseas contract workers (OCWs). It touches on the following issues: p p

p

p

p

Skills gain and drain from overseas employment; Growing demand for skilled OCWs in East and Southeast Asia; Evolving traineeship programs in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and other newlyindustrialized countries (NICs); Major HRD problems and issues in the maritime industry; Issues involved in the utilization of skills of returning OCWs; and

The government has every reason to heap accolade to the overseas contract workers (OCWs) and honor them as the “new heroes” of this country. With their immense contribution (US$18 billion remittances since 1975) to the country’s steady growth toward economic recovery, they do deserve to be honored by a grateful citizenry. Yet, their phenomenal growth and staggering number (seven million since 1975), raise a corresponding government responsibility. For one, their welfare poses a major challenge to the government: Are there enough safeguards for their protection? What do they really need? What are the real issues in labor migration?

These are some of the points raised in this issue. In a study done by the Center for Research and Special Studies for TESDA, (p. 1), the authors argue for the

ISSN 0115-9097

p HRD

policy directions in relation to overseas employment.

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The Tasks and Realities of Science and Technology Development

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Philippines's Initiative and HRD Program in APEC

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Labor Migration Issues: Government Seeks Means to Protect Workers

What previous studies say A survey on the socioeconomic consequences of contract labor migration, conducted by the Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies (ILMS)

n s i d e

The HRD Challenges of Overseas Employment* in 1982-83, dealt with the issue of skills acquisition. The study showed that (1) the overseas labor market is highly selective, favoring migrant workers with higher education and work experience, (2) the selective character of the recruitment process for overseas employment is reflected, to a certain extent (majority of the worker-

need to emphasize the HRD aspect in the government's overseas employment program. This argument neatly coincides with the growing international consensus that HRD is a critical component of economic development. This is why the Philippines intends to pursue it as a major agenda item in next year’s APEC Leaders Summit which will be hosted by the Philippine government in Subic. Other Philippine initiatives in APEC are outlined in the article on p. 8.

S&T, a major pillar in the country’s quest to become a member of the newlyindustrializing economies, is the focus of the paper on p. 5. Among others, it discusses STAND Philippines 2000 which was designed to enable us to employ superior technology to gain competitive advantage for the country.

E d i t o r ' N s o t e s

respondents declared a match between their skills and jobs), in the matching of skills and jobs, (3) majority of the worker-respondents said they did not acquire new skills overseas although among the seamen respondents, more than half claimed that they acquired new skills while on overseas work, and (4) majority also claimed that their former employers in the local industry did not have difficulty looking for replacements.

While the ILMS study took a look at various skills categories, they did not, however, cover the matter of scarce skills outflow. The study of the *

Condensed from the paper prepared by the Center

for Research and Special Studies led by Dr. Rene Ofreneo for the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), formerly National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC).

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HRD Challenges...

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University of the Philippines's Asian Labor Education Center (ALEC) in 1983 attempted to fill this gap. The study's major conclusion was that the Philippine economy, particularly the construction industry, suffered a scarcity of certain skills due to overseas employment. The study specifically mentioned shortages in carpenters, masons, steel workers, welders, plumbers, pipefitters, and, among the professionals, accountants, physicians and architects.

The cost of this skills drain, however, as shown in Noel Vasquez’s study (1987) is offset by workers’ remittances which allow OCW families to send their children to schools.

Meanwhile, Edita Tan (1993) argued that in general, migrant workers acquire more advanced on-the-job training (OJT) overseas and that the problem is how to apply the new and enhanced skills to domestic conditions.

In addition, she pointed out that the outflow of workers has only a minimal impact on the economy since there is a large pool of unemployed labor to replace them and schools are quick to respond to the overseas labor market by offering those courses which the market demands.

Education and occupational patterns of OCWs Recent statistics show that overseas employment remains highlyselective in character. More than half of OCWs in 1990 have either reached or graduated from college (Table 1). As to occupation, 44.4 percent were production and transport workers, 37 percent, service workers, and 12.6 percent, professional and technical workers (see Figure 1).

The decline in construction activities in the Middle East has shifted

Table 1: Number of Overseas Contract Workers, 15 Years Old and Over

Highest Education Completed

Number of OCWs (October 1990)

Philippines

518,200

Elementary level Elementary graduate High school level High school graduate College level College graduate Education not reported

16,000 48,500 43,300 141,400 133,400 128,000 7,500

-----------------------------Source: National Statistics Integrated Survey

the demand from production workers to transport equipment operators.

There has also been a rapid rise in the number of service workers in the past one-and-a-half decades. Most of the service workers, however, are in lowscale, semi-skilled type of work such as housekeeping.

Counting the plus and minuses The truth is that, skills-wise, there are gains and losses in the overseas employment program.

The gains come in the form of higher remuneration and fuller utilization of skills. Contrary to the perception of limited skills acquisition as noted in the earlier ILMS study, the mere experience of working overseas, under a new environment and with access to better tools and equipment, enhances one’s skills. This is specially true for skilled workers who are given the chance to work with state-of-theart technology as well as those who are initiated by their employers to new work procedures and techniques. Once the workers come back, they have the chance to use these advanced skills in their home country.

A second gain is the increased capability of migrant workers’ families to send their children and kin to schools due to increased earnings. A third gain would be the pressure on domestic industry to train more workers -usually those who are semiskilled and

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underemployed -thus increasing the overall national stock of skilled manpower.

The losses, in the meantime, constitute the skills drain for critical industries and the recruitment and training cost inOffice curred by these of Households industries in the process of looking for new workers to replace those who went abroad.

A “de-skilling” phenomenon has also risen in the case of some types of migrant workers like the educated female workers who accept menial and vulnerable jobs as housemaids. There is not only a clear mismatch of skills and jobs here but also the danger of an erosion over time of one’s professional training due to disuse.

Another negative effect is what Asis (1992) noted as the difficulty of returning migrant workers to find jobs where they can use their new skills due to limited economic opportunities at home and low wages as well as to maintain a standard of living sustained by higher incomes from abroad.

Lastly, there is the social cost of education and training spent by society on the workers’ education and skills development.

HRD policy for overseas employment The proposal banning the outflow of certain scarce skills to minimize domestic industry losses is not practical since workers and recruiters will always find a way to circumvent such a ban. This was amply illustrated by the temporary ban imposed on the export of certain vulnerable skills to certain countries such as Kuwait. It was not very effective.

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS

International labor mobility is now a reality under a borderless global economy. Like capital, labor has become globally mobile. The movement of labor is driven not only by the workers’ search for higher wages but also by the demand from laborreceiving countries for certain types of skills. It is a skills-driven mobility.

Hence, the ideal approach is for the government to maximize the country’s skills gains from overseas employment while minimizing skills losses.

Skills-gain maximization can occur through three policy thrusts.

One , through increased emphasis in the deployment of locally-trained workers in the high end of the skills spectrum to minimize abuses and maximize earnings.

Two , through skills upgrading and technology transfer via overseas OJT and exposure to more sophisticated work processes in the industrial, labor-importing countries.

..........

Figure 1: Distribution of OCWs

by Occupational Groups, October 1991 (In percent)

Three , through a comprehensive program of intervention and assistance to facilitate the fuller absorption and utilization of the skills of returning workers.

The whole point is to transform the overseas employment program into a major element in the country’s overall capital and skills formation program.

Overseas employment should not only be a source of higher incomes and

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savings for workers. It should also be a means for upgrading the country’s manpower and industrial base including the acquisition and accumulation of technologies.

Moreover, the overseas employment program should not be seen as a mendicancy program. Overseas employment has an immense contribution to the Philippines, which is unable to employ its workforce fully. It has also contributed to the growth of other countries, which due to shortages in skilled and other types of workers, are forced to hire foreign workers. In hiring OCWs, these countries in effect are able to realize tremendous gains because of the "avoided cost of education." Such cost, according to a 1994 Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) study, may run to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Changing labor market While the selectivity factor seems a constant feature in the overseas employment program, distinct changes in the patterns of OCW deployment have also been noted in the past decade.

First , the growth in the deployment of OCWs in the Middle East has reached a plateau with the decline of the construction boom in the Gulf area.

Second , there is a change in the mix of workers in the Middle East, from a predominantly blue-collardominated Filipino workforce to a service-oriented one. Many establishments in the Gulf area, from airports to hospitals, are now manned by Filipino workers. Many of the rich Arab homes likewise have Filipino maids to keep their houses in order.

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Third , there is a dramatic upsurge in the hiring of Filipino workers in nearby East and Southeast Asian countries. With the increased material wealth of their societies, the well-off in these Asian countries have encouraged the entry of Filipino entertainers and domestic helpers.

Fourth , and the most dramatic development from the point of view of skills development, is the increasing problem of labor shortages in certain lines of industry and services in some countries due to tight labor markets.

As a result, Filipino professionals, skilled workers and semiskilled workers are recruited in droves in the region, with or without appropriate work permits.

Brunei, Hongkong, Japan, Malaysia and Korea have shown sharp annual increases in the number of OCWs deployed from 1987-92 (Table 2). On the other hand, the labor shortages experienced by these countries are highlighted by the gaps in the demand and supply of labor in individual Asian countries. With the exceptions of mainland China and the Philippines, all countries in the region had labor shortages in 1993 (Table 3).

The tightness in the labor market of these Asian countries is due to their sustained economic growth and expansion.

Japan, which had a spectacular growth in the 1960s and 1970s, saw the four Asian dragons (Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hongkong) breathing on its neck as these countries acquired newlyindustrialized country (NIC) status in the 1980s. Today, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are considered as the new NICs. As these countries continue to grow economically, their industry and service sectors also continue to grow in sophistication and technology. Despite uninterrupted investments on

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growing number of small and medium retail businesses seeking Filipino service workers in these countries.

HRD Challenges...

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Country of Destination

1987

1990

1992

449,271

446,095

686,457

Total Deployed to Asia

90,434

90,768

134,776

Brunei China Hongkong Indonesia Japan Korea Macau Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand

4,737 65 30,811 532 33,791 59 28 2,431 17,601 3 27

4,206 264 34,412 332 41,558 119 99 4,397 4,698 54 33

10,866 455 52,261 760 51,949 230 420 7,095 8,656 1,193 109

Total Deployed All Over the World

Total Deployed to the Middle East 272,038 218,110 340,604 _________________ Source: Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

Table 2: Number of Overseas Contract Workers Officially Deployed to Asia and the Middle East, 1987-1992

............

productivity and human resources, these countries still experience labor shortages. They are able to deploy their workers mainly in the white-collar, science-and-technology-based and service-oriented areas of industry and services.

Those in blue-collar occupations are decreasing in population.

In some countries with rapid industrialization but an underdeveloped workforce, there is also a high demand for Filipino professionals, managers and educators. There are many Filipino professionals and executives in Thailand and Indonesia manning middle-level positions in industries such as banking. Lately, there is even a demand for Filipino executives in labor-surplus mainland China which has registered double-digit growth rates in recent past. There is also a

Clearly, there is a demand for Filipino knowledge and skilled workers. The demand will continue to grow as these countries continue to develop and until the Philippines itself is able to catch up in the development game. In the meantime, the Philippines should position itself in such a way that it can deploy more OCWs in the high end of the skills spectrum.

Deployment of workers The most prosperous countries in the region are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hongkong and new entrants such as Malaysia and Thailand.

They employ modern machinery, techniques, tools and industrial systems to produce industrial exports for the world market.

The Philippines should thus deploy most of its overseas workers in the industrial and service sectors of these countries since it will yield the greatest benefit in terms of skills upgrading of these workers. This is true even in the small and medium industrial and retail enterprises (SMEs) of these countries, most of which developed as part of the industrial subcontracting arrangements of the big industrial enterprises. Many of these SMEs use sophisticated industrial techniques and are globally competitive compared to the SMEs in the Philippines. The government should put in place a clearcut program of skills acquisition and technology transfer to maximize the deployment of these OCWs. The problem, of course, is the highly restrictive labor migration policies of some of these countries.

Despite acute labor shortages, most countries have maintained labor market restrictions against the hiring of foreigners which leads to cases of “illegal” and undocumented foreign workers, Filipinos included. This has

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forced the Philippine government to negotiate with the governments of these countries regarding deployment, welfare and skills development of OCWs. Japan . Most workers in industry and services (both legal and illegal) develop their skills through OJT. With the demand of industry for greater liberalization of the labor market, the Japanese government expanded its “trainee system” which allows Japanese firms to hire a certain percentage of their work force as “trainees” from abroad, especially those coming from their counterpart subsidiaries in the Philippines and elsewhere. There are also “student trainees.” But due to reported abuses of the rights of foreign trainees, the Japanese government is closely monitoring the system.

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Table 3: Labor Demand and Supply Balance in Some Asian Countries in 1993 (In millions) Country

China Chinese Taipei Hongkong Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore South Korea Thailand

Labor Demand

Labor Supply

Excess Supply

689.75 8.78 2.88 81.73 8.00 26.73 1.54 32.91 37.09

716.94 8.73 2.78 81.50 7.41 26.83 1.38 31.86 32.18

27.20 -0.05 -0.10 -0.24 -0.59 0.10 -0.16 -1.05 -4.91

_________________ Source: Human Resource Development Outlook, 1992-1993 Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.

A trainee is allowed to work for two years. Under the rules made effective in 1993, a trainee should spend two-thirds of his time for off-the-job training and one-third for on-the-job

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ewis Branscomb, in his book E m p o w e r i n g Technology (1993), observes that defining the right objectives for government in science and technology development is relatively straightforward.

However, the successful implementation of policy is another matter since it requires the presence of certain conditions.

S&T machinery and plan The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is the agency charged with providing central direction, leadership and coordination of all scientific and technological activities in the Philippines. It is also responsible for formulating policies, programs and projects in support of national development.

DOST began as the National Science Development Board in June 1958 and was reorganized as the National Science and Technology Authority in March 1981. It was elevated to cabinet status in January 1987 under Executive Order 128. The order expanded DOST’s functions and responsibilities which now include p supporting local scientific and

technological efforts, p developing local capabilities

to achieve technological selfreliance, p promoting public and private sector partnership in science and technology, and p encouraging the private sector to participate more in research and development.

In 1990, DOST came up with the Science and Technology Master Plan (STMP). STMP serves as the framework for DOST's contributions to the effort of enabling the Philippines to attain the status of a newly-industrializing country by the year 2000.

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The Tasks and Realities of Science and Technology Development *

............................

by William G. Padolina

Secretary, Department of Science and Technology

industry; information technology; metals and engineering; mining and minerals; pharmaceuticals; process industry; textiles; and transportation.

Stand Philippines 2000 The strategies identified in the STMP are: p modernization

of the production sectors through massive technology transfer from domestic and foreign sources, p upgrading of research and development capability through intensified activities in high priority areas, and p development of science and technology infrastructure, including institution building, human resource development and promotion of public understanding of science and technology.

The STMP has identified 15 leading edges or sectors expected to contribute substantially to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the next few years. These are agriculture; aquaculture and marine fisheries; construction industry; emerging technologies; electronics, instrumentation and control; energy; forestry and natural resources; food and feed

The Cabinet approved the Science and Technology Agenda for National Development (STAND PHILIPPINES 2000) in April 1993. It is a marketoriented, private sector-led action plan within a short to medium-term span. It identifies a priority list of products and services toward which superior technology shall be applied to gain competitive advantage for the country.

STAND PHILIPPINES 2000 was designed to coincide with the goals of the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan by addressing the following concerns: technology assessment and monitoring, utilization of emerging technologies, increasing private sector participation, networking, manpower development, and S&T policy review.

Building on the strategies laid out by the STMP, STAND PHILIPPINES 2000 identifies science and technology interventions such as the application of superior technology to a priority list of products and services in export-oriented industries, basic domestic needs, support industries and the coconut industry.

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Keynote address delivered during a joint PIDS-DOST-Asia Foundation media forum on "Strengthening the

Technological Base for Science and Technology," December 13, 1994, NEDA sa Makati Building.

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Tasks and Realities...

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Pushing the plan Created in 1989, the Science and Technology Coordinating Council (STCC) oversees the implementation of the STMP. It is composed of nine members of the Cabinet, three representatives from the private sector and one representative from the academe. The STCC is chaired by the Secretary of Science and Technology.

The implementation plans of the various leading edges are reviewed and approved by the council.

Notable achievements S&T human resource development programs . Eight programs are currently implemented by DOST to provide quality education in science and technology as well as augment the local manpower pool by encouraging expatriate Filipino scientists and engineers to work in the Philippines.

These programs include -p DOST-SEI p p p p

p p p

Undergraduate Scholarship Program Sectoral Councils Graduate Scholarship Program Philippine Science High School System Science and Technology Scholarship Act of 1994 Engineering and Science Education Project (supported by an $85 million loan from the World Bank and OECF) Scientific Career System Balik-Scientist Program and Scientific Awards and Recognition.

The Scientific Career System and the Awards and Recognition Program have provided incentives for scientists and engineers in the public service to remain in their jobs. In spite of these, though, there is still a shortage of manpower in research and

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d e v e l o p m e n t because availment and output rates are quite low.

D i s t i n c t t e c h n i c a l c o m p e t e n c e .

Constraints in delving in science in a developing country such as ours have not deterred the development of distinct competence in the following areas: (1) plant breeding, (2) volcanology, (3) geothermal energy, (4) methods of nutritional assessment, (5) coconut production and utilization, (6) disaster mitigation, (7) health care, and (8) marine sciences.

Filipino scientists engaged in these areas of study have demonstrated world-class capability and continue to be recognized in the international scientific community.

Establishment of analytical and testing facilities . Over the years, DOST has established a modest level of capability in selected analytical and testing facilities. These are -p

p

p p p p

biological testing services for rubber, plastic, soap, water and wastewater, food, beverages, alcohols, chemicals and other industrial products chemical testing services for food and food nutrients, metals, pulp and paper, wood and other forest products, rubber, plastic, soap and cosmetics, water and wastewater, beverages, alcohols, textiles, chemicals and other industrial products corrosion tests for metals and paints mechanical tests for metals meteorology other services which include

Photo credit: TDRI Annual Report 1994

gamma irradiation, isotope techniques, radiation licensing and protection, neutron irradiation, computer aided design, ceramics pilot plant, food processing pilot plant, and wood processing pilot plant.

Access to emerging technologies .

Through its institution-building and grant-in-aid program, DOST has enhanced access to emerging technologies such as biotechnology, information technology and materials science. It has equipped laboratories to enable local scientists to work on research and development projects.

Local funds have been supplemented by bilateral and multilateral grants as well as loan proceeds from ESEP. Laboratories are being set up in the University of the Philippines System, De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University.

Access to INTERNET, a global computer network, has also enabled local scientists and engineers to communicate with databanks and laboratories all over the world.

Improved private sector participation in S&T programs. There has been a dramatic increase in private sector participation in various DOST activities in recent years. This includes private sector representatives in the STCC, governing councils, and various

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS

technical panels and committees. There is also increasing availment of grantsin-aid funds and other services by the private sector.

Enhanced technology transfer programs.

DOST has conducted productivity studies and consultancy services through teams of experts from academe and the private sector.

These are the Manufacturing and Productivity Extension Program for small and medium scale industries and the Productivity and Consultancy Program for medium and large scale industries. Furthermore, search and acquisition of technologies from other countries are supported by the Global Technology Search Program. Private industry response has been positive and requests are increasing beyond what the funds can support.

Increasing public understanding of science. To increase public appreciation and understanding of science and technology, DOST extends support to various activities especially for the youth. It supports quiz contests, art contests, establishment of science centrums and participation in international science fairs and competitions.

There is a trimedia information campaign to inform the public of issues and activities in science and technology.

Be counted, Philippines 2000 The country must position itself as we participate in the information age. It should be nothing short of being prepared to handle and adjust to rapid changes now occuring. Ideas are moving from research laboratories with such rapidity and are being communicated just as fast. We exist in an economic environment that rewards competitiveness.

To respond to these challenges, we need to accelerate scientific and technological skills upgrading and to

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change our world outlook. We also need to excel and achieve technological self-mastery.

The science and technology enterprise in a developing country is faced with enormous tasks and difficulties. There are many concerns which make it difficult for the production sector to be competitive.

There is a wide variety of demands and pressures on the science and technology community. This makes it difficult to position DOST in its task to provide direction to the nation’s science and technology activities. Resources are also limited and there is just no way by which all concerns can be handled properly. Since some of the demands may come from the political leadership, the natural response of the agency is to try to handle them.

It is probably correct to say that the breadth of concerns in science and technology has tempted DOST to cover a wide variety of activities. This has thus led to the perception that DOST lacks focus. It is further complicated by other S&T initiatives originating from government agencies other than DOST. Possessing larger budgets and workforce, such initiatives can overwhelm DOST and render it redundant.

What now DOST? It is important that DOST positions itself well in the bureaucracy. DOST should maintain a unique role especially in areas where science and technology concerns exist in the corresponding lead agencies such as agriculture, industry, environment, natural resources, science and engineering education.

DOST’s role may be understood by considering its access to technical competence including the human and physical resources attributable to such.

This is the science community as a whole and is not restricted to those directly supervised by DOST.

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Furthermore, DOST is authorized to give grants-in-aid which is a flexible mechanism for responding to the needs of the agriculture, industry and services sectors.

There are sufficient grounds to argue that DOST should be the vanguard agency, the purveyor of market-oriented advanced science and technology. As such, DOST should veer away from its traditional role and promote the use of superior technology.

In doing so, DOST should (1) provide access to information, (2) promote and facilitate research and development in the emerging technologies, (3) plan and implement manpower development programs, and (4) promote and facilitate technology transfer.

Constraints It will certainly be difficult for DOST to extricate itself out of its traditional activities. Its public may not be prepared, and resistance to modernization -- especially if it entails costs and threatens to eliminate existing relationships in production -- may retard efforts. Many feel we can only attain competitiveness if we enhance and upgrade the manufacturing and services sectors. This entails the use of modern technology.

DOST Budget

1994 1995 (In thousand pesos)

R&D Institutes Central and Regional Offices Sectoral Planning Councils S&T Services Agencies Science Education Attached Agencies

360,944 1,347,770 160,535 772,126 194,715 21,228

608,328 1,358,547 216,217 758,425 302,435 32,714

Total

2,857,318

3,276,666

The budget of DOST has increased over the years except for reductions in 1987-88 and 1989-90. For 1995, the proposed allocation of P3.2 billion is relatively larger than 1994’s P2.8 billion as shown above.

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Philippines’s Initiative and HRD Program in APEC*

T

he Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a loose consultative forum and, as such, it is not similar to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United Nations, or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Nonetheless, we view it similarly as one that contributes to the development of the Philippines for short- and long-term interest.

The Philippines 2000 movement notes two themes: global competitiveness and people empowerment.

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Are we to “babysit” all overseas contract workers? Or as the Gancayco Commission 2 suggests: should we adopt parens patriae as a principle so that we must care for the least advantaged in our society no matter what nook of the world they are with whatever resources the government can afford? The implication of parens patriae is an economic issue and we must address that internally before we go to APEC.

APEC in our midst ............................

Undersecretary, Department of Foreign Affairs

APEC includes our regional partners and therefore we have ASEAN as a takeoff point for many of our discussions.

dramatic problems either as victims or perpetrators, the issue is how to address the needs of our people especially those in vulnerable employment situations, given the limited resources that we have and the very dynamic labor market around the world.

However, ASEAN is divided on the issue of how to participate in APEC. For instance, there was a reaction that if ASEAN leaders were to meet prior to the APEC Leaders summit last year, it might mean in the eyes of the other leaders that ASEAN is trying to “precook” an Indonesian-hosted summit in Bogor.

by Federico Macaranas

U

We cannot be globally competitive if we are backward in our training, curricularly unprepared and equipped with the wrong set of attitudes. A globally competitive workforce as we know should be prepared not only for local but more importantly for the regional competition.

nless the government would create more employment opportunities here, Filipino workers, aiming for more prosperous lives, cannot be prevented from leaving the Philippines for jobs abroad -- no matter how risky those jobs are.

were DFA Undersecretary Federico Macaranas, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Assistant Executive Director Bernie Justimbaste, and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Executive Director Lorna Fajardo.

In terms of people empowerment, the Maga-Contemplacion case 1 clearly shows that although only less than one percent of all Filipinos overseas face

Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Visiting Research Fellow Gonzalo Jurado raised this concern during a media forum entitled “HRD Program on Manpower in APEC” held recently at the Department of Foreign Affairs building. The said forum, which is part of the preparation for the next AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders summit in Subic next year, was sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), PIDS, and the Asia Foundation. Among the panelists

During the forum, Jurado emphasized the need to understand the issues on labor migration in order for the government to come up with policies based on scientific alternatives.

“As long as wage differentials exist across countries, labor outflow will continue unabated. Only repressive governments can prevent people from seeking better paid jobs."

*

Excerpts from the presentation during the media

forum on the same subject matter held on April 26, 1995 at the DFA Building, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

1 Two Filipina domestic helpers in Singapore who figured in a questionable criminal case, leading to the hanging of Flor Contemplacion. The incident roused the Filipinos to take the cause of embattled OCWs. 2 Body set up by President Fidel V. Ramos, as an offshoot of the Maga-Contemplacion case, to look into conditions of OCWs and recommend corrective measures to address such.

Still, there are so many dimensions on overseas contract workers (OCWs) that should be

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ASEAN is supposed to have regular meetings at the level of heads of government. The issue is: do they meet before or after the APEC summit?

rules and regulations rather than be looked upon as a fortress where tariff walls against outsiders predominate the thinking of policymakers.

APEC was conceived as being centered in ASEAN. Singapore was elected as the site of the permanent headquarters of the secretariat precisely to underscore that point.

Many initiatives in APEC will move only if ASEAN members are participating.

We see APEC participation in the free trade areas, for example, North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), as rather important in view of the Bogor summit which affirms that by the year 2010 and the year 2020, respectively, the industrialized and the developing economies will have achieved free trade.

APEC summit meetings are supposed to be held alternately in an ASEAN and a non-ASEAN site. So the first summit was held in Seattle; then it was followed by Indonesia, Japan and then the Philippines in 1996.

APEC is also seen as a defense against protectionism because the very heart of APEC is open regionalism. By open regionalism we simply mean that in the trading regime, we are open to the rest of the world in terms of our

APEC: GATT-plus There are several layers of free trade going on in the world. After the GATT, we have the regional liberalization efforts -- NAFTA and AFTA. In APEC, we now grapple with the reality that because of the GATTWorld Trade Organization (WTO), we must undertake measures to rationalize the regional free trade areas so that they can contribute to the dynamism of

Labor Migration Issues ........................................

considered.

Jurado cited the government’s decision to allocate more money for the protection of OCWs. Given limited public resources, should we allocate them specifically for the OCWs? What about the other marginalized segments of the society?

Here, we are back to the argument of putting money where it creates greater impact for more people.

The protection of OCWs or internationally-shared human resources, a global catch-phrase introduced during earlier APEC fora, is a major concern for the promotion of human resource development which, according to Undersecretary Macaranas, is seriously being

Government Seeks Means to Protect

Workers considered by the government APEC’s theme for 1996.

as

The Philippine government intends to finalize a program of action based on consultations with different sectors. Macaranas said they are

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APEC. A question is: since you are in a loose consultative forum, how do you propose APEC to lead in the construction of the world economy in the twenty-first century?

Will you not fall back on GATTWTO? The answer is simple. APEC, to keep its dynamism, must be GATT-plus.

GATT-plus means you have to achieve your economic performance over and above the free trade regime under GATT. Therefore, you must move forward in other areas where GATT might be at a certain level. It is in this regard that the NAFTA, AFTA and ANZCERTA (Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations and Trade Arrangement) comes to light. At the first meeting of the senior officials in Fujioka, Japan this year, a special session was called

by Japan precisely to underscore this regional dimension. And we have discussed the issue of how these free trade areas relate to each other.

How will NAFTA treat AFTA and how will ANZCERTA treat NAFTA, and all of these permutation of relationships?

To illustrate, if rubber shoes have certain tariff rates in GATT and have certain tariff rates in NAFTA and AFTA, how do you promote the production and marketing of rubber shoes in Asia-Pacific so that you will keep your share -- in fact, increase your share of the world market?

That is a very definite issue that hits home to the producers and consumers of the world. As we all realize, free trade increases the welfare of consumers through lower prices and better quality goods and evidently, rubber shoes, being a consumer item, is of concern not only to the producers but to the consumers as well. So free trade -- the benefits thereof -- should be discussed at the level of interregional group arrangements.

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Labor Migration Issues...

E Page 7 looking at other organizations to help them devise models. He mentioned the UP Law Center which is doing a study on the European convention on human resources, and the General Agreement on Trades and Services which has a migrant workers section.

10

and parcel of the global market. She added that the Filipino workers, who are “better and preferred over those

............

TESDA's Bernie Justimbaste explaining the rationale of TESDA's program.

There is some clamor to stop deployment of OCWs due to poor working conditions of Filipinos abroad. But according to Macaranas, the continuous labor migration is triggered by natural market forces.

Alcestis Mangahas of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) affirms this by saying that the Philippines is part

Philippines's Initiative...

E Page 9

The consensus approach In APEC, however, with its loosely-arranged set-up, how can this be made possible? Can the promotion of a policy environment conducive to greater cooperation really be achieved?

APEC has employed the so-called "consensus approach" in its undertakings. Consensus, however, is a very difficult concept to share with other people. There is always a difference not only in gradation but also in appreciation of what the term is. In fact, for some, the approach has been used as a means to filibuster and, subsequently, forestall decisions on certain items. Yet, if this is how consensus is viewed, then many initiatives may be sacrificed. And the dynamism of APEC and the AsiaPacific economy will be lost if indeed we focus on the problems of, say, two or three economies which do not affect the problem of 15 other economies.

During the APEC leaders summit in Indonesia, therefore, the consensus approach has been redefined to mean: if you disagree vehemently, say your piece in another forum. If you do not disagree very vehemently, then perhaps you do not have to air your views in a dramatic way. If you really are cooperating, then you do not need to talk unless you can contribute something to the discussion.

Instruments of cooperation There are many areas or instruments of cooperation. Scientific and technological cooperation is one.

Trade and investment facilitation is another. The third and most important is trade and investment liberalization.

I will concentrate on the third since it is the heart of the APEC summit's agreement.

The first step to any economic relation is to make sure that you benefit from mutual exchanges. Here, you see arrangements for innovative modes for private and public sector collaboration.

There is now a Chamber of Commerce

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1995

from other countries,” are in demand abroad where there are labor shortages.

On the other hand, Bernie Justimbaste of TESDA stated that “the best way to ‘protect’ our workers is to give them ‘life-long opportunities’ so they may be able to adapt to the changing trends in their host countries.” He added that nontraditional strategies should be created to make our workers continue to be competitive in the labor market.

Among these strategies, according to him, are putting more investment on basic education and retooling the skills of some Filipino OCWs so that entertainers, for instance, can move toward other areas like, for instance, DRN computer operations.

grouping in APEC. There is a Pacific Business Forum which calls for the top business leaders of the region to talk to each other every year and report the progress of their work to the government leaders. There are already ongoing projects in telecommunications, fisheries, tourism, marine resource conservation, trade promotion, etc. They are all private sector-led. Opportunities for multilateral consultation to reduce barriers to trade and investment form part of trade and investment liberalization.

Meanwhile, skills upgrading and training on manpower and educational exchanges are part of the human resource development work program, which is, in turn, an important component of trade and investment liberalization.

This brings us now to the human resource angle and why it is important to us.

RP's major asset: human resources President Ramos noted in his Bogor statement that human resources

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS

are a very important component of economic development; yet APEC has shied away from the issue. This is surprising, he said, because Indonesia had already launched the initiative on resource development framework and, therefore, leaders must follow the commitment of the ministers.

What is the rationale behind this?

The number of Filipinos overseas as of December 1993, per statistics gathered by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, is as follows -approximately, six million overseas Filipinos, of which 2.45 million are OCWs and the rest distributed among legal immigrants and those undocumented or TNTs (in local parlance, "always hiding"). What is the meaning of these numbers? Six million is roughly nine percent of the Philippine population and represents a lot of resources. The problems that we find in the media represent only a tiny fraction of less than one percent of this nine percent. At the Department of Foreign Affairs, we are tracking down about 2,800 cases out of 2.45 million.

"The first step to any economic relation is to make sure that you benefit from mutual exchanges."

In APEC, we refer to them as internationally-shared human resources. It is a catch-all phrase and includes not only OCWs but also immigrants and expatriates. Filipinos contribute to much of the undocumented internationally-shared human resources. If we are to safeguard the welfare of our workers, then we have to see to it that they are first documented.

11

The trend in the number of Filipinos going overseas is upward, contrary to some studies which say that there will be a downward trend in the number of Filipinos overseas. Our projection is based on the globalization of the world economy. I do not think that English-educated Filipinos with high skills will remain in the Philippines if world markets attract them to other places (see related story on page 8). We believe this is very salutary because compared to the Meiji era of Japan, we now have sent millions of Filipinos overseas who can share with us the technologies and information on markets and financing sources from abroad.

This has been practiced by many overseas Filipino OCW communities, one of which is a very successful cooperative in Saudi Arabia. Filipinos have set up a cooperative there and are now selling Filipino products to their kapwa Filipinos. So they no longer sell Thai patis or bagoong ; it is now the Philippines' Rufina patis again. We must tap Philippine markets abroad.

Our overseas communities have been good targets for the other APEC economies' marketing skills in the past.

It is high that time we now look at our own.

The deployment of OCWs also indicate that the increasing trend will not disappear because no matter what the state of the world economy is, the shortages of manpower would still be evident.

Where do we send most of our workers? Saudi Arabia predominates.

There are also big numbers in Hongkong, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Singapore, Qatar, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, and Oman.

On top of these, Filipino emigrants have been increasing dramatically.

Registered Filipino immigrants with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas has significantly

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1995

risen from 14,000 in 1975 to 63,000 in 1990 and about 67,000 by now. By major destination, the immigrants are in the USA (about three-fourths of them) and in Canada, Australia, and Japan. Since immigrants are said to have been the cause of our brain drain , the term has been changed by researchers to brain flow to suggest that the drain is not necessarily bad. We now realize that many of our statistics have to be refocused on this. For Asia Pacific to remain dynamic, the region's countries need the engineers, agriculturists and biotech-nologists of the Philippines. So we ask, what do we get in return?

Philippines's HRD initiatives There are several initiatives of the Philippines in APEC. Among these are the President’s own initiatives, the first of which is what he proposes as an annex to the economic leaders declaration of common resolve, containing the gist of what leaders should consider in the area of human resource promotion and protection. An action project -- the ministerial meeting on manpower -- was culled from this and the text will be discussed by labor ministers in a meeting to be conducted in Manila in January 1996 when we host the next APEC leaders summit.

A second initiative is called ACTETSM (APEC Center for Technology Exchange and Training for Small and Medium Enterprises). The President broke tradition in APEC when he proposed a center for technology transfer in the Seattle meeting. This was going to be a new infrastructure for sharing technology information involving not a building but a computer-linked network.

Where is the component here?

human

resource

Evidently, for us to be able to share technology with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the developing and the industrial world,

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Philippines's Initiative...

E Page 11 we must take a look at many aspects.

These include not only the training of workers but also of managers, researchers and designers. All sorts of people.

The Philippines also presented two other initiatives -- an international conference on innovative approaches for financing sustainable development and an international conference on migration as a follow-up to the Cairo conference. Hopefully in these areas, we will be able to discuss human resource-related projects.

12

DOST also proposes the exchange of information and professional competencies for engineering. Our engineers build not only products for the Philippines but also the planes and helicopters of Indonesia; our agricultural engineers did wonders for Thailand and many of our experts have done wonders elsewhere in the APEC region.

............

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Macaranas presenting some of the Philippines's HRD initiatives in APEC while PIDS President Ponciano Intal, Jr. listens.

Other initiatives There are also other proposals.

The National Economic and Development Authority, for one, is a proponent for capacity building and the design and implementation of human resource development policy intervention measures in education, training, labor, and migration in APEC. The Department of Science and Technology also proposes a training program to enhance productivity among SMEs; PIDS, on the study of the effects of temporary labor migration; UP Law Center with Asia Foundation, on an international conference on law and economics.

Law and economics is a new field which tries to marry economic concepts with legal doctrine. This field, however, is not well appreciated precisely because the nature of market economies has not yet been perfected. This is important because if you are going to maintain the dynamism of the Asia Pacific region, the legal branch of governments and societies must understand how economic systems under free enterprise work. In the Philippines, there has been dramatic cases where misinterpretation of economic principles by the judiciary have led to disastrous results. We hope that this will not happen in the context of our dynamic region.

A

The APEC meeting in Subic (2hour drive from Manila) next year will not only focus on human resource development. We have to complete the work of Japan in crafting the blueprint for free trade. That means Manila will have to take on the burden of convening technical groups in order to define how to fully liberalize trade by the year 2010 and 2020. This task is similar to crafting the Treaty of Rome that created the economic union in Europe. It will call for a collective will to make the Philippines shine in 1996 with this important document of creating the blueprint for free trade in the AsiaPacific region.

Subic summit 1996 In the spirit of APEC, resources are shared; and many economies are willing to pitch in. 1996 will be a landmark in Philippine economic history. The President has already fasttracked many development prospects to make the Subic meeting a resounding success.

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1995

On the infrastructure side, the completion of an international convention center, several five-star hotels and the road connecting Manila to Subic will be completed. The airport will be operational soon. Creating the impetus for more economic cooperation by having more investors from the APEC region attend the Subic summit is also one concern. By making sure that each of the 17 member economies will participate in Subic, we are able to harness for our private sector some advantages for joining APEC. We hope that the message will be very clear. If the hosting of a meeting is to signal anything, it is for the Philippines to be able to project an image that once again, it is back in the heart of the business world in Asia.

Rather than being seen as the "sick man" of Asia, we are now fully recovered and are out walking once DRN again.

New PIDS Publications Research Paper Series No. 94-10

Foreign Direct Investment in the Philippines: A Reassessment

by Rafaelita M. Aldaba

No. 94-11

Trade Policy Reforms in the1990s: Effects of E.O. 470 and the Import Liberalization Program

by Elizabeth S. Tan

Forthcoming PIDS Publications Catching up with Asia's Tigers, Volume I

Essays in Social Science and Development

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS

Tasks and Realities...

E Page 7

Still, these expenditure levels are low compared to our ASEAN neighbors and constitute a real constraint to our S&T development program.

There are some 5,000 employees in the DOST system. Around two percent hold doctoral degrees, nine percent are master’s degree holders and 56 percent completed their bachelor’s degrees. Altogether, only 11 percent hold graduate degrees. It is therefore imperative to pursue a vigorous manpower development program including the retooling of capabilities of DOST personnel. The same constraint is faced by the science community.

Altogether, estimates indicate a total workforce of around 12,000 R&D personnel with no more than 1,000 holding doctoral degrees.

This is certainly not enough for the kind of task we have to address. The sad thing is that there is also very few doctoral students around.

Reinventing the DOST? The best plans and programs can only be implemented effectively with enough manpower and facilities. As a regular government agency, DOST faces the same constraints as any in the bureaucracy. The major debilitating factors which affect the delivery of services are lack of organizational flexibility and existence of a hierarchical organization.

The rapidly changing demands for technology necessitate a flexible organizational structure with the facility for redeployment of personnel to areas or teams organized to respond to such needs. The pyramidal structure so characteristic of the bureaucracy hinders creativity.

Younger staff members who may have obtained more advanced degrees cannot be promoted until higher positions are rendered vacant by resignation, retirement or

13

death. Thus, it is important that DOST be reinvented to reflect a flatter and more flexible organizational structure.

Accelerate development of S&T A seven-point agenda has been prepared by DOST as a guide in pursuit of major S&T activities:

p A clear and coherent vision of the next generation technological advances critical to the Philippines’s competitiveness in the global market, identifying superior technologies with high-efficiency performance applicable to local conditions;

p A

strategic research plan focused on critical advances in knowledge, tools and technologies needed to fulfill the vision of global competitiveness and people empowerment. This must address the problems and concerns of the agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors especially in the area of productivity improvement;

p The

organization of crossdisciplinary teams of scientists, engineers and inventors to harness the best and the brightest, regardless of institutional affiliation, in order to improve productivity by focusing on high valueadded products.

p An

educational program involving students in research teams focused on technological systems with exposure to industrial needs. Incentives and other benefits to encourage scientists and engineers to remain in the country shall be instituted;

p The involvement of the private sector in planning research and education programs to focus on short-term and long-

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1995

term needs of industry, and at the same time, strengthening techno-transfer efforts to industry and other users;

p The establishment of major or specialized experimental capabilities supported by a large-scale contemporary instrumentation and laboratories especially for testing and analysis which can meet world standards; and

p The

improvement of the research management system to optimize use of financial, physical and human resources leading to higher internal efficiency of R&D institutions.

Government intervention in the promotion of advanced science and technology should be planned. An indepth planning process which defines the role of DOST should be initiated.

Lead projects should be identified to set the tone of the shift in the nature of DOST interventions. These projects should trigger a series of actions consistent with the goals of industrialization and productivity improvement.

The process of streamlining DOST must continue although at a more rapid pace.

It is important that a clear and coherent sense of purpose should evolve within DOST and the science community. The complexity of the task can tempt us to take the path of least resistance and maintain the status quo.

DOST has to be a dynamic organization to merit public support toward its role in harnessing science and technology that DRN will promote national well-being.

Support Research Support Philippines 2000

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HRD Challenges...

E Page 4

training in the first year of traineeship; in the second year, full time is devoted to OJT. The National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC, which has recently been converted to TESDA) concluded in 1993 a “Technology Transfer Scheme” with the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization (JITCO). The scheme allows NMYC and JITCO to facilitate the deployment of qualified Filipino trainees in Japanese companies (these trainees are nominated by Japanese companies in the Philippines, nongovernment organizations, cooperatives, etc.). The program is clearly skillsoriented and it spurns the deployment of a worker in a job requiring “repetition of simple work procedures.”

Some private institutions and NGOs in Japan and the Philippines are also assisting OCWs in training. The Japan-Philippine Investment Coordinating Council, an association of Japanese businessmen, has launched a free computer training program in Kobe for OCWs in the area. The Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA), a Japanese NGO, collaborates with local NGOs in deploying Filipino trainees to Japan. One problem, though, with the latter program is the inability of relevant government institutions to monitor these training programs.

South Korea . By unofficial count, there are some 12,000 Filipino OCWs in South Korea. The country recently eased its restrictive labor market policies for foreign workers via the traineeship system with the Korean International Training Corporation as facilitator (similar to Japan’s JITCO).

Unlike Japan, however, South Korea does not have clear guidelines in the conduct of the traineeship scheme.

14

Many Filipino workers are deployed in SMEs, working either as tailors and seamstresses in the garments industry or doing varied jobs in the electronics, leather, footwear, and other labor-intensive industries.

The same industries are being developed in the Philippines. The OCWs, after getting exposed to the more technologically-sophisticated work processes in the SMEs of Korea, can transfer these techniques to the Philippines.

Taiwan . Taiwan opened up its labor market to OCWs in 1992. There are an estimated 50,000 OCWs (legal and illegal) in that country. POEA data indicate the continued rise in the hiring of construction and factory workers.

There is no formal traineeship system in Taiwan. Instead, its Council for Labor Affairs (CLA) allocates the number of foreign workers allowed to work in specified industries. The CLA set a total of 200,000 workers coming from the Philippines and three other countries as the allowable number for foreign workers that Taiwanese industries can hire.

In 1994, the CLA informed the POEA that it is setting up a Vocational Training Program which will allow workers from the Philippines and other Asian countries to undergo a two-year training program. Trainees will earn money and the skills they will acquire will be issued corresponding certifications. The initial number of trainees is small -- 1,000 for the various countries invited to send their trainees.

In Taiwan, there are labor shortages in the SMEs and in the traditional labor-intensive enterprises, including those located in the industrial parks.

Malaysia . Malaysia is the most promising destination for Filipino skilled and semiskilled workers due to its intense labor shortage. By 2020, Malaysia is expected to have a shortage

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1995

of 2 million workers. It needs skilled workers in its growing marine, telecommunications and aerospace industries. Right now, it has over a million foreign workers. However, majority are economic refugees from Indonesia (Malaysia shares a common boundary with Indonesia) and the Philippines (those based in Sabah).

Apart from the refugees in Sabah, there are 38,000 Filipino workers in Malaysia. About 70 percent of this number are domestics, 20 percent, factory workers and 10 percent, professionals.

In contrast to domestic helpers, the factory workers and professionals in Malaysia are not only better paid but are also in an excellent situation to learn and acquire more skills as Malaysia is aggressively pursuing a program of switching to higher level of industrial and technical development.

Unlike domestic helpers, who are vulnerable to abuses, factory workers and professionals are well-placed and enjoy higher level of protection.

In one electronics factory, the Malaysian owner promoted Filipino workers with only high school diplomas when they, consisting mostly of women workers, easily mastered basic and higher skills. The upward professional movement of Filipinos in Malaysian industries generates envy among other foreign workers and Malaysian ethnic minorities with limited education.

Other Asian countries. In Singapore and Hongkong, there are more Filipino OCWs compared to Taiwan and Korea.

Most of the OCWs are domestic helpers and a sprinkling of professionals.

Employment in Hongkong’s manufacturing industry is limited as industrial work is increasingly being relocated to special zones in mainland China. In Singapore, an increasing number of Filipino skilled workers, mainly computer programmers, are being recruited.

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS

The case of the maritime industry Demand for Filipino seamen has been increasing gradually and consistently since the 1970s, giving rise to the proliferation of maritime schools and training centers.

...........

Table 4: Estimated Annual Training Skills Requirements for Filipino Seafarers Skill

15

development of young Filipino seamen.

This is particularly important in the light of the rapid modernization of many of the world’s ocean-going vessels, which requires upgrading of standards and techniques in maritime education for new seafarers and retraining of experienced seamen on new technologies. (See Table 4 for skills requirements of Filipino seafarers.) In a way, a seaman’s exposure or experience in a modern international ship completes his maritime education.

Quantity

Diesel mechanic 1,440 Welding 19,152 Pipefitting 1,152 Practical electricity 4,176 Machine shop practices 6,624 Marine electronics 288 Refrigeration and airconditioning 576 Electrotechnology and instrumentation Electronics technician 288 Thermic spraying 5,184 Cooks 7,200 Messman 7,200 Cabin stewarding 7,200 Dining stewarding 7,200 Bar tendering 7,200 Waitering Roomboy Restaurant supervision Restaurant operation -----------------------Source: "Study of the Training Needs of the Filipino Seafarers," POEA, 1989.

Some of these schools and training centers, however, are of inferior standards and many of their graduates are not fully qualified to become seamen. Some seafarers are in fact routinely rejected. The numerous cases of accidents and safety violations involving Filipino seamen are an indication of weak or incomplete maritime education. Such accidents have forced the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration (OWWA) to offer free training on emergency and safety courses for tanker personnel.

The limited facilities of local maritime schools and training centers and the underdeveloped shipping industry in the Philippines are major obstacles to the all-rounded skills

As of 1989, 70,000 seamen with varied skills are needed by the overseas shipping industry annually.

The Shipboard Understudy and Competency Development Program was launched in 1989 to allow retraining of qualified deck and marine officers and skilled workers on board ocean-going vessels.

Absorbing the skills of the returning OCWs A skilled workers’ stint overseas can be considered a temporary skills loss to the local economy. However, the skills lost due to overseas employment can be regained once the worker comes back. The skills may in fact be of better quality given the OCW’s experience and additional training overseas.

This assumes, of course, that the OCW lands a domestic job where his skills are fully utilized. But not all OCWs land such jobs. Many also refuse jobs that are available because of low pay and low job standards.

The challenge now for government is how to provide the conditions that will maximize the skills gains of returning OCWs. Many OCWs upon return invest their savings in a livelihood or business project. This has given rise to the packaging of training programs enhancing entrepreneurial skills of OCWs. OWWA has a reentry program for returning OCWs that seeks to develop entrepreneurial skills while

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1995

POEA has an Entrepreneurship on Migrant Earnings project.

The government is also identifying various livelihood projects that OCWs can easily master.

Unfortunately, not all OCWs have the knack for entrepreneurship.

Government should therefore study the capacity of local industry to absorb the skills of returning OCWs and find ways to facilitate absorption.

Recognition, certification and testing of skills of returning OCWs are also necessary.

Policy directions for manpower development In the 1970s, the thrust of overseas employment was marketing the program as a short-term stop-gap measure to solve Philippine unemployment. In the 1980s, with the economic crisis and mounting reports of abuse committed on OCWs, the thrust shifted to integration of marketing with the welfare and protection aspects of overseas employment. In the 1990s, with NIChood as a goal, the HRD dimension in the planning of overseas employment should be emphasized. A clearcut and comprehensive skills program for OCWs can become part of the structural adjustment package necessary to make the economy breathe like an economic dragon.

To summarize, the overseas employment program in relation to HRD planning can be guided by the following policy directions:

p Deployment

of OCWs in less vulnerable, high-skilled jobs both in traditional and new markets p Adoption of skills-acquisition deployment programs such as the NMYC-JITCO model in as many developed countries as possible p Closer monitoring and upgrading of maritime schools and training centers

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Philippine Institute for Development Studies NEDA sa Makati Building 106 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village 1229 Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

1995

STAMP

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HRD Challenges...

E Page 15

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS is a bi-monthly publication of the PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (PIDS). It highlights the findings and recommendations of PIDS research projects and important policy issues discussed during PIDS seminars.

PIDS is a nonstock, nonprofit government research institution engaged in long-term, policy-oriented research.

p Strengthening of retraining and

p

p

p

p

apprenticeship programs for Filipino seafarers, preferably on board ocean-going vessels Recognition, certification and testing of skills of returning OCWs Conduct of research on and implementation of alternative ways of mobilizing migrant earnings, e.g., pooling of resources to be able to establish factories similar to those OCWs worked for overseas Establishment of a national program of monitoring skills utilization and nonutilization before, during and after overseas work of OCWs Inclusion of a module on skills acquisition for pre-departure orientation programs for OCWs. D R N

References Asis, Maruja. The Overseas Employment Program Policy, Philippine Labor Migration: Impact and Policy. Quezon City: Scalibrini Migration Center, 1992.

Department of Labor and Employment. "The Overseas Employment Program." Policy paper submitted to the Cabinet, March 1994.

Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies. Working Abroad.

Manila: Department of Labor and Employment, 1984.

Interview with Elliot Cojuangco. "Philippine Labor Attache to Malaysia," December 11, 1994.

Joson, Felicisimo. “Taiwanese Labor Official Concludes Fruitful Visit." Manila Times, September 4, 1994.

New Strait Times. “Agencies Told to Bring in More Skilled Workers," Kuala Lumpur, November 28, 1994.

Philippine Daily Inquirer. “Pinoy Workers Now Get Better Deal in Korea,” June 11, 1994.

Sinay-Aguilar, Virginia et al. Outflow of Scarce Skills in the Philippines. Quezon City: UP Asian Labor Education Center, December 1983.

This

publication is part of the Institute's program to disseminate information to promote the use of research findings.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Inquiries regarding any of the studies contained in this publication, or any of the PIDS papers, as well as suggestions or comments are welcome.

Please address all correspondence

and

inquiries to:

Research Information Staff Philippine Institute for Development Studies Room 304, NEDA sa Makati Building, 106 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village 1229 Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines Telephone Numbers 892-4059 and 893-5705; Telefax Numbers (632) 816-1091 and 893-9589 Re-entered as second class mail at the Makati Central Post Office on April 27, 1987. Annual subscription rates are: P90.00 for local subscribers; and US$16.00 for foreign subscribers. All rates are inclusive of mailing and handling costs. Prices may change without prior notice.

Staff Vol. XIII No. 2

March-April 1995

.........................

Editorial Board Dr. Ponciano S. Intal, Jr. President Dr. Mario B. Lamberte Vice-President

Ms. Jennifer P.T. Liguton Director for Research Information Mr. Mario C. Feranil Director for Project Services and Development Ms. Andrea S. Agcaoili Director for Operations and Finance Atty. Roque A. Sorioso Legal Consultant

Tan, Edita. “Labor Emigration and Human Capital.” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal II, No. 3 (1993): 308-28. ______. Overseas Employment, Savings Rate and Income Distribution: The Philippine Case .

Quezon City: University of the Philippines School of Economics, August 1991.

Jennifer P.T. Liguton Editor-in-Chief Ma. Lourdes M. Salcedo Issue Editor Corazon P. Desuasido, Suzy D. Taparan, Wilbert R. San Pedro and Genna E. Manaog Contributing Editors Valentina V. Tolentino and Anne P. Cleofas Exchange Necita Z. Aquino, Delia S.Romero, Galicano A. Godes and Federico D. Ulzame Circulation and Subscription Jane C. Alcantara Lay-out and Design

“Update on Korea." Overseas Employment Info Series VI, No. 1 (June 1993): 45-49.

Vasquez, Noel. Mobilizing Surplus Labor Through International Exchange. Manila: BATU, 1987.