The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced on Wednesday, March 30, that it has partnered with the Ontario government to provide more job opportunities for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III signed the Joint Communique with Ontario Labor Minister Monte McNaughton.
The programs McNaughton highlighted were the Bill 27 or the Working for Workers Act of 2021, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, and the reduction of the language proficiency requirement for internationally educated workers.
“Working for Workers Act requires recruiting and temporary help agencies to be licensed. It also prohibits certain regulated professions from requiring a Canadian experience as a qualification for an internationally-trained professional to obtain a license, except for the health sector,” DOLE said in a statement.
“Meanwhile, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program recognizes and nominates, among others, foreign workers with a job offer in a skilled occupation the opportunity to apply to live and work in Ontario permanently,” it added.
Aside from the initiative, Bello also commended Ontario’s programs which provide workers with complete protection and higher incomes.
Ontario, located in Central Canada, has the most significant number of Filipino residents at 337,760.