President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has supported a proposal to continuously train more Filipino workers in healthcare and information technology (IT) sectors and then require them to serve at least two to three years locally before they are allowed to seek employment abroad in a bid to address human capital flight in those sectors.
“It’s fine [because] if they find jobs abroad, that’s good for them. But the problem is tayo dito, we lose the talent that we train… that we took through the certification system,” President Marcos said during the 5th meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council-Jobs Sector Group (PSAC-Jobs) in Malacañang on Wednesday.
“We have to come up with some kind of strategy wherein, let’s say, you provide scholarships and then the scholarship agreement includes that you stay three years. After that then they’re free to go,” he said.
The President raised the issue of brain drain in the healthcare and IT sectors as more and more skilled Filipino workers seek greener pasture abroad, leaving the country with few talents to support those industries.
PSAC officials conceded that the local labor marker for those sectors cannot match the lucrative pay being offered by companies and healthcare facilities in the US, UK, Australia and Europe and the Philippine strategy must focus on continuously training new workers.
“I think what we can do is to continue to offer certificate programs and train their skills. I think we can do that. There’s no way for us to retain them,” said Teresita Sy-Coson of SM Investments Corp, who presented the proposals in behalf of the PSAC Jobs sector.
“Even in the digital, if we train them naman in the cybersecurity or in whatever advanced technology, they’ll also leave. If only we can get them for two years, good enough na rin,” Coson said.
PSAC-Jobs also suggested to further reinforce the President’s earlier directive to prioritize the crafting of a coordinated game plan in which the DOH, CHED, DMW and the DFA can negotiate with other countries on hiring Filipino workers.
The President previously directed the DOH, CHED, DMW and DFA to work together in negotiating on a position of strength with the foreign governments regarding the issue. PSAC said it was a step in the right direction.
The advisory body also said DOH’s human resources for healthcare master plan must be supported, suggesting the government should prioritize negotiating with other countries such as Canada, US, Australia.
This include requiring them to adopt a hospital or a school, invest on them so that they can participate in the country’s labor force and afterwards require the graduates to stay in the Philippines for at least two years before they could seek employment overseas.
Such scheme, it said, could give the country at least some period of time to sustain the country’s supply of workers.
On the country’s employment situation, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the number of employed Filipinos reached 50.52 million in December 2023, with 0.88 million jobs generated since November 2023.
The unemployment rate further declined in December 2023 to its lowest rate since April 2005. PND
