By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio
(The Philippine Star) Updated August 01, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA,
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) are collaborating in training
overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to become entrepreneurs which will hopefully help strengthen the Philippines’ exporting capability.
“Export-driven economies such as the Philippines would need to build
the capacity of entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs to enhance our
exporting activities and boost the local economy,” said Trade and
Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo.
The DOLE, through the National Reintegration Center for OFWs has
tapped the DTI through the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) to
organize a training package for overseas workers and encourage them to
venture into business.
These free training sessions, which began this July, consist of key
topics on how to start a business, entrepreneurial education activities
where they learn the business cycle, market supply and demand, and
selling as well as preparing the business plan.
A study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) noted that overseas
remittances could spur local development through entrepreneurship. The
study also cited the role of government
to provide support mechanisms to overseas workers and
remittance-receiving families who are self-employed or who have entered
into enterprises.
In 2010, the DTI, through the PTTC, has organized similar trainings
for some 300 overseas workers in cooperation with the Overseas Workers
Welfare Administration (OWWA).
For this year, the PTTC training targets some 2,000 overseas workers
as participants. The sessions will culminate with an activity on
preparing the business plan. The best business plans will qualify for a start-up loan package from the Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines.
There are about two million Filipinos
working abroad, majority of whom are based in the Middle East. The
training sessions will assist returning OFWs affected by the recent
political unrest in the region and reintegrate them into the economy.
The government is likewise readying several other programs.
A study by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) showed
that the Philippines is one of the world’s largest labor exporters
since the 1980s and one of the largest recipients of overseas workers’
remittances. In 2010, international remittances from abroad reached
$18.8 billion, according to recent Bangko Sentral data.
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