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“It represents a loss for destination countries as they are not fully utilizing the skills and talents of their skilled migrants. At the same time, there are also negative consequences for origin countries when they lose a significant number of their skilled workforce,” she added.

Deskilling, as defined in the study, is the “deployment to positions lower that the migrants’ educational attainment, training, or experience, owing to the non-recognition of their overseas qualifications and the bias for education acquired in the host country, local experience, cultural know-how, and English proficiency.”

Siar said that while many traditional immigration countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have strong preference for migrant workers with higher education, skills, and professional training, it is still not unusual for migrants to be relegated to lower status or to have lower paying jobs.

“Certain professions like medicine, nursing, law, and teaching also require overseas-educated migrants to undergo a ‘bridging’ course or a supervised training and even work as an intern (in the case of doctors), and pass a licensing examination. These requirements may take a few months or some years to complete,” PIDS said.

The study also noted the effects of race, gender, and ethnicity in the deskilling of migrant workers.

“In Canada, for example, there is less chance for migrants to hold a managerial position. Migrant engineers who migrated after the age of 27 and those who were born in the Philippines or in Eastern Europe have the lowest probability of holding engineering or managerial positions,” the study said.

The paper said there are several ways by which countries of origin and destination can help mitigate the negative impacts of deskilling.

Siar said that origin countries must improve the quality of information given to their departing migrants to prepare them for challenges ahead.

“To facilitate successful integration, it is imperative to prepare the migrants while they are still in their home countries so they can anticipate the challenges and plan on how to address them,” the paper said.

“Home countries, particularly their governments, have a responsibility to inform and educate their citizens,” it added.

Siar said that in the case of the Philippines, the government, through the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, conducts country-specific pre-departure orientation seminars which are compulsory for all departing permanent migrants.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration provides seminars for those who are leaving the country on labor contracts.

The PIDS study said that topics covered by these seminars include travel regulations, immigration procedures, cultural differences, settlement concerns, employment and social security concerns, and rights and obligations of Filipino migrants.

“But even if these programs exist, there is a need to continuously improve the quality of these seminars and ensure that they do reflect the real issues that migrants will face overseas and to suggest strategies on how these can be addressed,” it said.

On the other hand, the research author said that governments of destination countries should have a more in-depth investigation of the actual situation of their migrants instead of just relying on statistics and evaluation reports proclaiming the success of their migration policies.

Lastly, the study noted that the mismatch between immigration laws and labor policies must be addressed by destination countries.

“There should be better labor policies and suitable settlement strategies for their migrants to provide them with a positive environment to achieve professional and economic stability with less difficulty,” the PIDS paper said.

(Cick here for the study)

Source:

by Angela Celis
Malaya Business Insight
http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/business/business-news/31432-how-deskilling-shortchanges-migrant-workers
21 May 2013

At the invitation of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the CFO joined migration experts from the MENA Region and EU in a 2-day conference in Tunisia to share recent initiatives of the Philippine Government in addressing jobs-skills mismatch among the youth. Representing the Chairperson Imelda M. Nicolas and the Commission was Director Maria Regina Angela G. Galias who presented on the Philippine Experience in Matching Economic Migration with Labor Market Needs.

Much like current conditions in the Philippines, countries belonging in the OECD and MENA region are highly concerned about the growing number of educated yet unemployed youth. Matching the skills of these young persons with the labor market needs is particularly important for these countries as more and more skilled individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 are looking for job opportunities overseas. According to OECD and UNFPA, this may have detrimental effects on the development prospects of the origin countries and even more if migration occurs among young graduates in critical sectors such as education and health. According to reports, in 2010 about 380,000 new migrants from the MENA region settled in OECD countries accounting for about 7% of total immigration flows.

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14 May 2013 – The Department of Foreign Affairs is urging irregular overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia to heed the advice of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and take advantage of the opportunity given by the Saudi Government to correct their residency and labor status.

The guidelines which were announced by the Saudi Ministries of Interior and Labor last May 10 allow irregular workers to correct their status or leave the country without obtaining No Objection Certificates

Irregular OFWs have the following options:

• Workers can return to their original employer upon mutual agreement, or transfer to a new employer even without permission or consent of the original employer. 
• Companies can correct the occupations of their workers during the grace period, free of charge.
• Runaway household workers (“huroob”) can return to their original individual employer or transfer to a new individual employer.  The prospective individual employer may complete the procedure for the transfer of the worker through the Jawazat Offices (Saudi Passport Office).
• Household workers can also transfer to a private sector company through the Saudi Labor Offices.
• Illegal Filipino workers have the option to leave the country (final exit) instead, without the need to obtain No Objection Certificates from their current employers, provided that they do not have criminal charges or records against them. They will also be allowed to return to the country in the future if they are able to obtain valid working visas. 
• Hajj and Umrah (pilgrims) overstayers who arrived in the Kingdom before July 04, 2008 can correct their status as either a household service worker or as private sector company worker.   Overstaying Hajj and Umrah who arrived after that date may leave without penalties.

All penalties and fines accruing to an illegal worker before April 06, 2013 will be waived, except for regular processing charges. 

Private rights claims between a Filipino worker and his/her current employer will be settled through the court, and will not prevent the Filipino worker from transferring to a new employer.

Employers are now clearly obligated to hand over to the worker all his personal documents – such as passports and residency permit (iqama) – upon request. Employers are also obligated to make sure that the residency permit (iqama) of workers are valid. Failure to do so is sufficient grounds for a worker to end their contractual relationship.

The deadline to avail of these concessions is July 03, 2013. After this deadline, the Saudi Government will resume its inspections and arrest and / or apply fines against violators – both employers and employees. 

Specific details of the guidelines are available in both Filipino and English on the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh’s website: www.philembassy-riyadh.org   Affected OFWs may also contact the Saudi Ministry of Labor’s (MOL’s) customer service number, 920 001 173.

Irregular Filipino workers are advised to read the guidelines carefully and make their way to the nearest Passports Office (Jawazat) or Labor Office as follows:

For further inquiries, irregular OFWs may call the following numbers in their respective regions:

The MOL has announced that it will be open from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in addition to regular working hours.  In addition, it has encouraged companies to use its e-services portal.

The Embassy is confirming if the Jawazat Offices will extend their hours, and will inform Filipinos accordingly.

There is no need to coordinate with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) for the transfer to a new employer or verify the new employment contract prior to the transfer.  The priority is for the new employer to transfer the services through the concerned Saudi authority as soon as possible.

Filipinos who need to look for a prospective employer may also wish to check the Ministry of Labor’s www.redyellow.com.sa which has jobs posted with entities that are in the green or excellent zone.  They may also call MOL customer service hotline, 920011884.

Source:

Department of Foreign Affairs

Washington, D.C. – Filipinos and Filipino American commu-nity leaders and supporters joined a nationwide “Call to Action” today to press immediate passage of an immigration reform bill that would provide a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants and protect family reunification provisions.

At a rally on Capitol Hill, which drew thousands of leaders and supporters from religious communities, immigrant rights coalitions and labor organizations, these de-mands were repeated by speakers who fired up the crowd with chants of “Si, Si Puwede” (Yes We Can) and “The Time Is Now.”

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