Home and internet-based jobs among best work alternatives for OFWs — DOLE

MANILA, Philippines — Home and internet-based jobs are among the best career alternatives for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and those returning to the Philippines for good, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said, citing a recent webinar it has conducted.

In a statement on Sunday, DOLE said the webinar, which revolved around the topic “Pano maging OFW ng hindi lumalabas ng ‘Pinas?” (How to be OFW without leaving the Philippines?), was conducted by its Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Singapore for some 80 OFWs.

“Virtual careers are alternative options for those who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 as well as those who do not want to work away from their families,” Labor Attaché Saul De Vries said.

He noted that the pandemic has caused the displacement of thousands of OFWs in Singapore and in other countries.

Meanwhile, ILS executive director Ahmma Charisma Satumba said virtual careers provide vast opportunities for OFWs and other workers.

For her part, webinar resource speaker Ann Kristine Peñaredondo of the ILS also said that “virtual career allows one to work at the comfort of home, earn different currencies and serve different businesses.”

However, she also pointed out that virtual careers sometimes create misconceptions, doubts, and fears as they are “novel” and have not been fully explored yet by many people.

But while she admitted that virtual careers are not for everyone, Peñaredondo also noted that many of those who chose to venture into these careers have become successful.

Peñaredondo added that writers, accountants, bloggers, advertisers, bookkeepers, coders, software engineers, illustrators, videographers, and many other skilled professionals can likewise build their virtual careers if they so wish.

RELATED STORIES

1.6M OFWs displaced by pandemic

The future of online selling services is here

JE