The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it has adoption the International Direct e-recruitment System for the Special Hiring Program for Taiwan (T-IDES) following its successful implementation with the hiring and recruitment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as production workers for Taiwanese tech firm NXP Semiconductors.
Under the T-IDES, the POEA facilitates the recruitment process through its in-house placement facility, or the Government Placement Branch.
The program is designed to simplify the hiring process and make it easier for Taiwanese employers to directly hire foreign workers, including OFWs without the participation of private recruitment agencies or brokers.
?The system aims to cut down the processing time in finding suitable foreign workers and likewise reduce the mobilization costs for workers and employers,? DOLE secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz explained.
It will cut down on cost, from the present P90,000 to P120,000 to only about P30,000.
A DOLE inter-agency team was created to ensure efficient implementation of the T-IDES, composed of persons from the POEA, OWWA, TESDA, the International Labor Affairs Bureau, MECO Labor Centers in Taiwan, and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs.
The T-IDES process flow will last from only 12 to 18 days.
It will commence with employer selection which will last for at least three to five days. The POEA will notify the top three choices of the employer and process the first to comply with all the requirements, after which the employer shall review the pool of pre-qualified applicants, as endorsed by the POEA.
The POEA, under the program, will document the workers selected, while the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will conduct the comprehensive pre-departure education program for selected workers and manage the welfare-related interventions for T-IDES workers onsite.
The TESDA, for its part, will provide a registry of certified workers and graduates based on the qualifications required by Taiwan employers and to provide a list of TVET providers offering programs that meet employers? needs.
The NRCO, on the other hand, will promote financial literacy and suitable reintegration projects for T-IDES workers.
Selected workers under the T-IDES will also have to undergo medical examination, contract signing, submission of documentary requirements, payment of fees, issuance of Overseas Employment Certificate, airline booking, pre-departure orientation seminar, and language training.
Thereafter, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines will issue a working visa to the employees for deployment.
Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac of the POEA reported to Baldoz that officials of NXP Semiconductors visited Manila last week and were able to interview 315 applicants through the T-IDES.
The list of workers hired by NXP, after the company?s internal alignment and selection, will be provided for proper documentation and deployment.
The endorsements for prospective employees of NXP began on September 7, 2015, with a total of 63 workers endorsed; the second endorsement was on September 8, with 92 workers; and the third endorsement on September, with 127 workers. An additional 33 workers were also endorsed by NXP after a POEA evaluation on September 10.
In a letter sent to POEA director Nimfa de Guzman, NXP human resource officer Kelly CJ Chen thanked the POEA for the arrangements that have ensuring the efficiency of the process.
?We are satisfied with the smooth flow in conducting the company presentation, tests, and interviews for the applicants ? divided into four batches ? in three days. POEA officials and employees, indeed, worked hard from early morning till evening in monitoring details that we really appreciated,? Chen said.
?To strengthen the hiring program of OFWs under the T-IDES, Taiwanese employers who have valid accreditation with licensed Philippine Recruitment Agencies (PRAs) shall be allowed to hire under the T-IDES based on dual registration, like documentary package and uniform compensation package. The POEA has issued Memorandum Circular No. 11 in this regard,? Baldoz said.
Toward this end, the labor and employment chief bared that under the T-IDES, only quality employers in Taiwan and quality workers from the Philippines will participate.
?This is one concrete step towards ensuring that the system achieves its maximum potential and benefit for all concerned parties. The only way to make this system work is standards for workers and employers,? she said.
