Two new labor agreements that will pave the way for m ore Filipino skilled workers in Germany are now being negotiated by the Philippine government, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) disclosed on Monday, April 18.
Lanor Sec. Silvestre Bello III said that two labor agreements will not only open the doors for Filipino nurses but also skilled workers from the fields of hotel service, electrical engineering and mechanics, sanitation, heating and air conditioning, and child care.
"One labor agreement aims to add another pathway for recruiting Filipino healthcare professionals while the other one focuses on the deployment of 31 other skills and professions," said Bello.
“We are hopeful that the two agreements could come to fruition within the term of President Duterte and mark a significant milestone in the history of Philippine-German bilateral relations,” he added.
The Philippines currently deploys Filipino nurses to Germany under the Triple Win Program.
Since 2013, around 1,800 nurses under the program were exempted from the cap on the overseas deployment of Filipino healthcare workers.
This developed as the German-funded Geriatric Skills Laboratory in Baliuag University in Bulacan was turned over to the Philippine government recently.
The Bertelsmann Stiftung Foundation funds the laboratory through the collaboration of the Philippine and German agencies under the Triple Win Program-Global Skills Partnership program.
An expansion of the Triple Win Program, the Global Skills Partnership program provides access to German training through face-to-face, e-learning, and other alternative methods.
"Given the aging population in Germany, geriatric care was also identified as one of the priority skills needed by nurses in the European country," said Bello.