Local and Global Tech-based Industries Merged at SMX for e-Services 2009

The SMX Convention Center in Pasay City served as the venue conference room for local and global companies involved in information and communication technology (ICT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) to discuss new trends and challenges in their respective industries during the 9^th e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition(e-Services 2009) last February 9 – 10, 2009.

Organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, Philippine Board of Investments, DTI - Foreign Trade Service Corps, and DTI – Regional Operations Development Group, the event has served as the annual gathering in Asia Pacific where global thought leaders, decision makers and centers of excellence in global ICT and BPO converge and collaborate with one another to discuss trends, issues, and emerging business models in the IT business.

President Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo gave the event’s keynote address. According to President Arroyo, the event came at the time when the global economic situation is clearly an issue for everyone. The President thanked the corporate heads of the international companies who decided to invest in the Philippines and “turn wild ideas into indispensable tools to advance business and the quality of our lives.”

The first day of the conference was filled with plenary sessions on risk management, human resource challenges, and global sourcing. Sector based discussions were also held during the last day of the confab.

The highlight of the event was the annual e-Services Awards, which aims to highlight the contribution of intellectual property creation to the growth of the Philippine off-shoring and outsourcing industry, particularly in animation and game development, back office business process outsourcing, contact centers, software development and maintenance, and transcription. Among the awardees were Advance World Systems and Media Farm for Outstanding Client Application of the Year; Tech Factors, Total Transcription Solutions, and Navigator Systems for Outstanding Consumer Application of the Year; EMR Global and Next IX Systems for Groundbreaking Technology of the Year; and Transprocure, Pointwest Technologies, and PeopleSupport for Most Progressive Homegrown Companies.

The 9th e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition is in partnership with Business Processing Association of the Philippines, Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc., Game Development Association of the Philippines, and Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines Inc., and the following media partners: Business World, IT Matters, Business Mirror, and European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

EVENTS Job World Job Fair Roadshow by Neotrade Enterprises WHEN: March 30-31, 2009 WHERE: Ever Gotesco Commonwealth First Shoppers Choice Expo 2009 by Netmark International, Inc. WHEN: April 17-19, 2009 WHERE: Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC)

JOB ADS Sybase Mobile Services - Network Operations Centre Engineer - VAS Engineer - Intelligent Network Engineer Paramount Life and General Insurance Corporation - Policy Service Assistant - Internal Auditor - Collection Assistant - Analyst/Programmer - Accounting Staff - Underwriting Clerk - Claims Clerk - Roving Cashier - Senior Trainer - Policy Accounting Assistant - Underwriting/Policy Issuance Staff - Accounting Assistant - Financial Accounting Manager - Purchasing Assistant Redbox/Banana Leaf Cury House - Restaurant Manager - Restaurant Supervisor - Front Desk Associate - Sales & Marketing Officer - Dining Staff - Kitchen Staff - Bartender - Cashier Alara Software, Inc. - Programmer Analyst Prestige Criuses, Inc. - Tour Guide - Sales Coordinators Philippine College of Criminology - Personnel Officer - Maintenance Supervisor (Foreman) - IT Staff (Database Administrator) - IT Staff (Technical Support) - Researcher JustFlowers.com - Human Resources Manager - Operations Manager NERA Philippines, Inc. - Network Engineer - HR/Admin Manager - Sales Executive EventWorx - Sales and Marketing Associates - Creative Writing Interns/OJT - Multimedia/Graphic Design Interns/OJT Justino Corporation - Sales Coordinator

PGMA: Match Jobs with Skills

President Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo stressed during the Jobs Forum on Overseas Employment last March 2, 2009 at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall in Malacañang to improve skill matching with the jobs available in the market.

According to the data released by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) during the event, there are 500,000 jobs available for Filipinos overseas. However, DOLE Secretary Marianito Roque admitted that a lot of the job seekers do not have the skills necessary for the jobs available overseas, specially those located in the Middle East.

Jobs available overseas are in line with construction and healthcare services.

As such, the President has ordered the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to intensify its training and retraining of workers in skills that are responsive to the demands and requirements of these industries.

TESDA Director General Augusto Syjuco, during the forum, urged unemployed Filipinos to consider the Authority’s skills training and retraining courses, which are matched to the jobs available overseas.

A joint communiqué was presented to Arroyo wherein stakeholders in the labor sector pledged to enhance skills training, make the hiring of Filipinos abroad easier, improve the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, review employment contracts to enhance overseas working conditions, address the shortage of marine deck and engine officers, fight illegal recruitment, and improve the competitiveness of Philippine vessels at Malacañang during the forum.

Trabaho.com thanks its following sources:

Sy, Marvin with Sheila Crisostomo, Philstar.com. GMA: Plenty of jobs available for Pinoy workers despite financial crisis (Posted March 3, 2009) Retrieved March 6, 2009 from
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=445126&publicationSubCategoryId=63

Samonte, Angelo S., The Manila Times. 500,000 overseas jobs available for Filipinos (Posted March 3, 2009) Retrieved March 6, 2009 from
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/march/03/yehey/top_stories/20090303top4.html

Guinto, Joel, INQUIRER.net with Christian Esguerra, Philippine Daily Inquirer. Arroyo: 500,000 job openings abroad (Posted March 2, 2009) Retrieved March 6, 2009 from
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view/20090302-191857/Arroyo-500000-job-openings-abroad

EVENTS Job World Job Fair Roadshow by Neotrade Enterprises WHEN: March 26-27, 2009 WHERE: Starmall Alabang Job World Job Fair Roadshow by Neotrade Enterprises WHEN: March 30-31, 2009 WHERE: Ever Gotesco Commonwealth

JOB ADS Sybase Mobile Services - Network Operations Centre Engineer - VAS Engineer - Intelligent Network Engineer Paramount Life and General Insurance Corporation - Policy Service Assistant - Internal Auditor - Collection Assistant - Analyst/Programmer - Accounting Staff - Underwriting Clerk - Claims Clerk - Roving Cashier - Senior Trainer - Policy Accounting Assistant - Underwriting/Policy Issuance Staff - Accounting Assistant - Financial Accounting Manager - Purchasing Assistant Redbox/Banana Leaf Cury House - Restaurant Manager - Restaurant Supervisor - Front Desk Associate - Sales & Marketing Officer - Dining Staff - Kitchen Staff - Bartender - Cashier Alara Software, Inc. - Programmer Analyst Prestige Criuses, Inc. - Tour Guide - Sales Coordinators Philippine College of Criminology - Personnel Officer - Maintenance Supervisor (Foreman) - IT Staff (Database Administrator) - IT Staff (Technical Support) - Researcher JustFlowers.com - Human Resources Manager - Operations Manager NERA Philippines, Inc. - Network Engineer - HR/Admin Manager - Sales Executive EventWorx - Sales and Marketing Associates - Creative Writing Interns/OJT - Multimedia/Graphic Design Interns/OJT Justino Corporation - Sales Coordinator

More Companies Will Continue to Hire, Raise Salary

Based on the latest Grant Thronton International Business Report (IBR), more privately held businesses (PHB’s) in the Philippines have a positive outlook for 2009 and will continue to expand their workforce and even raise salaries.

The study reveals that 67 percent of the PHB’s who participated expect increase profitability for 2009, 35 percent expect to hire more people, while 49 percent would likely keep their employee count unchanged.

Also, 76 percent of executives polled said they would likely increase wages above the current inflation rate level or at least stay in line with the economic indicator.

As for retention and recruitment PHB’s are more focused ion retaining their workforce than last year. A higher percentage of the companies in the Philippines provide training and development packages for their employees. Companies also ensure that all employees understand the company’s core values, mission, and goals. Majority of them develop competitive rewards systems and benefit packages to encourage retention and recruitment.

However, limited availability of skilled workers is restricting expansion. Mr. Greg Navarro, managing partner and chief executive of Grant Thornton International’s Philippine member-firm Punongbayan & Araullo, in an official statement said, “Local PHBs are in a different boat when it comes to employment issues. Earlier results of the [survey] showed that 63 percent of local PHBs saw the lack of skilled workers as a major constraint to their business expansion.”

Mr. Navarro adds, “So, while we’re hearing about companies around the world not having enough business to keep all their employees, Filipino business leaders have the jobs but have difficulty finding the right workers. It’s a no less worrying situation to be in.”

The Grant Thornton IBR examines the attitude, plans, and trends of 7,800 PHB’s in 34 economies across six continents. The Grant Thornton IBR builds on data in previous surveys and boasts 16-year trend data for European Union countries and six-year trend data for international economies.

Trabaho.com thanks its following sources:

Grant Thornton International Ltd., International Business Report 2009
http://www.internationalbusinessreport.com/files/ibr_2008_country_focus-philippines.pdf

Ho, Abigail L., Philippine Daily Inquirer Survey: Many will hire more, give raises (Posted February 26, 2009) Retrieved February 27, 2009 from
http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20090226-191049/Survey-Many-will-hire-more-give-raises
Re-posted at Inquirer.net at
http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/jobs/view.php?db=1&article=20090226-191049
Re-posted at Punongbayan and Araullo at
http://www.punongbayan-araullo.com/pnawebsite/pnahome.nsf/section_docs/ML523X_3-3-09

Osorio, Ma. Elisa P., The Philippine StarMost workers to get pay hikes – study (Posted February 26, 2009) Retrieved February 27, 2009 from
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=443529&publicationSubCategoryId=66

Foreign Academes Joined RP in Philippine-Latin American Studies Conference

Members of the local and foreign academe met for the First Philippine-Latin American Studies Conference held last December 15 to 16, 2008 at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) in Intramuros, Manila. The event concluded last December 17, 2008 at the National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development building of University of the Philippines (UP) – Diliman, Quezon City.

Organized by the Philippine Academic Consortium for Latin American Studies (PACLAS), the First Philippine-Latin American Studies carried the theme, “The Philippines and Latin America: Past, Present and Future”. The conference sought to bring together scholars on Philippine and Latin American studies here and abroad and share vital knowledge and information in order to understand the connection between the two races.

During the event, numerous experts from academic institutions here and abroad shared their researches on “Philippines in the world of Latin America”, Philippine-Mexican connections, Galeon Trade implications, perspectives on politics and migration in Mexico, construction of the Trans-Pacific Trade and its effects, Philippine-Latin American relations, development of the country in a colonial and contemporary society, architecture and urban life, regional economic and security issues, representation and consumption, and interaction in the arts.

Some of the resource persons were from the University of the Philippines, University of Asia and the Pacific, Ateneo De Manila University, De la Salle University-Dasmariñas, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and Intramuros Administration.

Foreign delegates came from the Universidad Iberoamericana (Ibero-American University) and Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (Autonomous University of Puebla) in Mexico, Universidad EAFIT in Colombia, University of Vienna in Austria, Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria (University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) in Spain, National University of Ireland, Maynooth in Ireland Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (Brazilian Institute of International Relations) in Brazil, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea, and Oberlin College and University of California-Berkeley in U.S.A.

PACLAS, founded in 2002 and initiated by the DFA, is a consortium of major Philippine universities seeking to promote academic and cultural exchange and to expand studies on Philippine-Latin American relations in collaboration with Latin American consular offices in Manila and counterpart academic institutions in Latin America.

The First Philippine-Latin American Studies Conference is co-sponsored by the City of Manila, Manila Historical and Heritage Commission, PLM, and the Office of the Chancellor of UP – Diliman.

Trabaho.com Supports Earth Hour 2009

On March 28, 2009, over 1,000 cities and towns across 80 countries will participate in what is referred to as the ‘first global election’. People of all ages, nationalities, race, and background will vote between two competing candidates – planet earth and global warming – to determine the future of the human race.

There will be no ballot boxes; no voter’s ID needed. All those in favor of earth will only need to do one thing: turn off their lights for one hour. And those who are in favor of global warming will let their lights on during the given ‘voting’ period.

From the Chatham Islands to the Arctic Sea, people from all corners of the world will turn off their lights for Earth Hour to cast their vote for action on climate change. Join them and be part of this historical event.

By simply turning off your light, you can say, “We care about Earth”. Your participation, along with millions of people from all over the world, can send out a strong message to the leaders of our country that we want a better, safer, and more-environment friendly Philippines in the future.

For Earth to win, the World Wildlife Fund aims to gather 1 billion votes. This means 1 billion families across seven continents will have to turn off their lights for one hour. This means trillions of light bulbs will not be used for one hour. Each vote is crucial. Each switch turned off is important.

Let’s help Earth win! Spread the word to your family, friends, neighbors, relatives, and your social network. Email or text your friends about the first global election and convince them to vote for earth. Post a blog about how can you help join the crusade to fight climate change. Add Vote Earth web banners or online badges to your social network account. Let the world know that Filipinos are in one with the world in the call to save earth.

For more information about Earth Hour 2009, visit http://www.earthhour.org/ or http://www.voteearth2009.org/

Web Phil Info.com, together with Kasal.com and Trabaho.com joins the world in celebration of Earth Hour 2009 and its call to inform the world about global warming and act to save our planet for future generations.

Gov’t Employs Nurses for Rural Area Assignment

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has announced that the government will be hiring nurses to serve rural communities, hospitals and other medical providers all over the country.

In a statement release by the Department, DOLE Secretary Marianito Roque said that the NARS (Nurses Assigned In Rural Service) program is a training-cum employment scheme wherein the hired nurse-trainees will be trained not only in providing basic health services to needy folks in rural areas but also in performing clinical functions under the guidance of participating hospitals and other medical facilities in areas where the nurse-trainees will be assigned.

The program aims to decrease the surplus of inexperienced nurses, hinder the proliferation of "volunteer nurses" working in hospitals without being paid, promote the health of the people, and bring government services closer to the grassroots.

DOLE will work in close coordination with the Department of Health (DOH) and Board of Nursing (BON) of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC). DOH will identify the hospitals and other medical providers that would participate in the said program and supervise the training of the nurse-trainees.

Together with the health department, the PRC-BON will formulate the training module and related development and learning activities. The Commission will also assess the performance of the nurse-trainees in order to assure that they are equipped with the essential skills and knowledge for employment locally, and eventually, overseas.

Nurses will be deployed in poverty-stricken areas to work in its community hospitals for two 6-months tour of duty. An average of five nurses will be assigned per town, receiving a monthly salary of P8,000.00. Around 1,000 rural municipalities will benefit from the project.

According to the NARS program guidelines posted at the DOLE website, completion of the training program under NARS program shall be considered as a substitute for the work experience requirement of hospitals and other health facilities, both local and overseas. A Certificate of Completion shall be issued to hired nurses, jointly signed by DOLE, DOH and PRC.

Unemployed registered nurses with a valid nurse license issued by the PRC who are physically and mentally fit and willing to serve in their hometowns are allowed to apply for the said program. NARS applicants must not be over 35 years old, a resident of the identified municipality, and has no nursing-related practice for 1 – 3 years. Recruitment and selection for the first batch began last February 23, 2009 and will end on March 31, 2009. Recruitment and selection for the second batch will begin on August 12 up to September 30, 2009.

Qualified applicants may apply online at http://www.nars.dole.gov.ph/, or at the nearest DOLE regional office.

The NARS Program was launched by President Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo during the multi-sectoral summit, “Joining Hands Against the Global Crisis” held last February 9, 2009 at the Malacañang Palace organized by DOLE and Department of Trade and Industry.

Trabaho.com. thanks its following sources:
DOLE News Section. NARS to train inexperienced nurses in public health and clinical functions (Posted February 17, 2009) Retrieved February 18, 2009 from
http://www.dole.gov.ph/news/details.asp?id=N000002294

DOLE News Section. Nurses Assigned in Rural Services (NARS) Program Description. Retrieved February 13, 2009 from
http://www.dole.gov.ph/contact/narspage.asp
Re-posted at DOLE NARS website at http://www.nars.dole.gov.ph/about.aspx

Esguerra Christian V., Kristine L. Alave, Philippine Daily Inquirer. 50,000 ‘green collar’ workers needed. (Posted February 10, 2009) Retrieved February 13, 2009 from
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090210-188403/50000-green-collar-workers-needed

Morales, Izah, INQUIRER.net. 10,000 nursing jobs in RP—labor chief (Posted February 11, 2009) Retrieved February 13, 2009 from
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090211-188680/10000-nursing-jobs-in-RPlabor-chief

Antonio, Raymund F., Manila Bulletin. Gov’t hiring 10,000 nurses for provinces (Posted February 12, 2009) Retrieved February 13, 2009 from
http://www.mb.com.ph/MTNN20090212147953.html

Kuwait in need of 5,000 Pinoy Workers

Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya disclosed during a press conference that despite the increasing number of companies laying off workers, he is glad that Kuwait has not been greatly affected by the economic downturn. Instead, several companies have opened a total of 5,000 jobs for Filipinos.

Amb. Endaya gave this statement during the Philippine Employment & Remittance Summit 2009 held at the Tayba Tent, Movenpick Hotel in the Kuwait Free Trade Zone in Shuwaikh, Kuwait. The ambassador stated that companies in Kuwait will employ staff for hotels, restaurants, as well as semi and skilled workers and health sector workers like nurses and caregivers.

Local manpower recruitment, counterparts from Kuwait and various remittance companies were present during the event, which began last January 27. The event aims to promote skilled Filipino workers to potential employers in Kuwait and to highlight the vital role played by foreign remittance companies in ensuring the fast and safe remittance of overseas Filipino workers to their families.

The Philippines Employment & Remittance Summit 2009 is sponsored by the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in cooperation with the Asian Cultural Network.

Trabaho.com. thanks its following sources:

Santiago, Michelle Fe,Arab Times. Kuwaiti firms need 5,000 Filipino workers. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/pagesdetails.asp?nid=27710&ccid=9

Tan, Kimberly Jane T., GMANews.TV. 5,000 new jobs open in Kuwait for Pinoys. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/146135/5000-new-jobs-open-in-Kuwait-for-Pinoys

PNP to Hire 7,000 Cops

Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Jesus A. Verzosa ordered the recruitment of more than 7,000 new police officers nationwide to augment the police force until 2010.

In a press release by the PNP, the hiring of new Police Officers 1 (PO1) is part of the regular recruitment program of the PNP that aims to increase the required number of 3,000 new PO1s for 2009 and replace the more than 4,000 uniformed personnel who were removed from the service for reasons of retirement, death, dismissal, and resignation for the first semester of 2009 and second semester of 2008.

“We are trying to strengthen our police forces with the employment of new police recruits and this is the initial recruitment for the first semester of 2009,” Dir. Gen. Verzosa added.

In an interview with Philstar.com, Gen. Verzosa said that the decision to increase the number of policemen in the country is also in response to the possible rise of petty crimes since more people are losing jobs.

Exactly 7, 245 new policemen are needed by the PNP. The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has the highest quota with 1,000 new recruits. Next in line are Police Regional Office (PRO) 5 (Bicol Regional Police) with 550 slots, and PRO 7 (Central Visayas) and 12 (Central Mindanao) with 430 slots.

The applicants will undergo a series of examinations and rigorous training. They are expected to take oath on July 2009 and shall be turned over to the Police National Training Institute (PNTI) for the regular PNP Field Training Program (FTP) for the next twelve months.

For more information, contact the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management at (632) 721-9685 / (632) 723-0401 to 20 local 4511, 4501 or email dprm@pnp.gov.ph.

Trabaho.com thanks its following sources:

Philippine National Police. PNP Needs 7,000 New Cops (PNP News Release No. 09-0301) (Posted March 2, 2009) Retrieved March 2, 2009 from
http://pnp.gov.ph/

Merueñas, Mark, GMANews.TV. PNP needs over 7,000 more cops (Posted March 2, 2009) Retrieved March 2, 2009 from
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/150974/PNP-needs-over-7000-more-cops

Felipe, Cecille Suerte , Philstar.com. Wanted: More cops. Retrieved March 2, 2009 from
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=436479&publicationSubCategoryId=68

Felipe, Cecille Suerte and James Mananghaya , Philstar.com. PNP, AFP recruiting new blood (Posted March 3, 2009) Retrieved March 3, 2009 from
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=445122&publicationSubCategoryId=63