Will Canada become a major market for Filipino construction workers in the near future?

The prospect of that is promising, at least according to Rachel Zozobrado Nagayo, the Labor Attaché of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Toronto, Canada.

"There have been around five employers who contacted POLO and nagsabi sila na interested sila to hire Filipino workers (and they said they're interested in hiring Filipino workers)," Nagayo said in a virtual press briefing with Manila-based labor beat reporters Friday, May 21.

"Nagustuhan daw nila yung work ethic ng Pinoy at siyempre yung sipag ng Pinoy (They said they liked Filipinos' work eithic and industriousness). Kaya naeengganyo sila (That’s why they're interested) in the future, when its possible, to hire Filipino workers from the Philippines," she said.

The Canadian construction companies learned of these good traits first hand from the Filipinos on their pay roll. "Pero hindi nila sinasabi kung ilan (But they're not saying how many they have)," Nagayo said.

She said that the construction sector in Canada has been having trouble attracting local workers; as such, the employers are now looking for other nationalities to fill up their vacancies.

According to the Labor Attaché, one employer based in Ontario claimed to have a need for 5,000 construction workers.

"Wala daw silang makitang nandito sa Canada na willing magtrabaho. Kasi medyo nasa minimum wage ang ino-offer nila na sweldo. General labor kasi yung kanilang hinahanap (They said they can't find employees in Canada since they're offering close to minimum wage. They're looking for general labor workers)," she explained.

Nagayo said the construction companies initially inquired if they could hire the Filipinos already in Canada.

"Ineencourage po namin na mag-hire sila from the Philippines. Kasi yung mga gusto nila yung nandito and we always explain na...mayroon na silang mga employers (We are encouraging them to hire from the Philippines. They want to hire the Filipinos here but we always explain to them that they already have employers)." Nagayo said the POLO has been doing what it can to bring the foreign job openings closer to the Filipinos here.

"Nagkaroon na kami ng orientation sa kanila kung paano yung proseso para kumuha ng workers from Philippines (We've already held an orientation to teach them how to recruit workers from the Philippines). Slowly they are looking into that idea of recruiting and hiring from the Philippines," she said.

As for the Filipino jobseekers, Nagayo advised them to be wary of illegal recruiters and to always check with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) regarding job opportunities abroad.