MANILA, Philippines — More job opportunities await Filipino professionals following the signing of an agreement between the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Republic of Austria on Wednesday.
In a statement, Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac, the DMW officer-in-charge, said he signed the memorandum of agreement with State Secretary Susanne Kraus-Winkler of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Labor and Economy.
The agreement seeks to address Austria’s shortage of skilled workers and at the same time provide job opportunities for professional Filipino workers.
“Through this agreement, we aim to facilitate the deployment of Filipino professionals and skilled workers to Austria in a manner that is safe, ethical, sustainable, and mutually beneficial. Our workers, in return, will contribute to addressing labor shortage in Austria and to sharing their expertise and commitment to the economic development of Austria,” Cacdac said.
READ: PH to get emergency assistance package from Austria-based IAEA
READ: Latest batch of Filipino nurses arrives in Austria
READ: PH seafarers get to keep jobs; EU cites ‘progress’
Under the agreement, Cacdac said around 500 Filipino workers will be deployed to Austria annually.
This deployment seeks to meet Austria’s demand of about 75,000 to 200,000 job openings in various industries, including the following:
- healthcare
- construction
- engineering
- information technology
- tourism and hospitality
Citing DMW data in 2022, Cacdac said there were about 5,824 Filipino workers in Austria. Of this number, a total of 1,220 are in the hospitality and food service industry, while 749 are in the health and social work service sector.