Canada urged to recognize PHL-earned degrees to spur hiring

The Philippines urged Canada this week to recognize the academic degrees earned in the Philippines to boost the hiring of Filipinos.

 

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said this would help fill the projected one million job vacancies across Canada by 2021 in sectors such as mining, oil, and health care.

In a news release, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Del Rosario made the suggestion to Canada’s Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney during their meeting at Canada’s Parliament Hill.

 

“Degrees earned in some foreign countries, including the Philippines, are downgraded when assessed in Canada, due to differences in curricula and required number of years. For instance, a college graduate in the Philippines is considered as having completed only two years of college education in Canada,” the DFA said.

 

Del Rosario said Canada would continue to attract Filipino workers who share close affinity with traditional Canadian values of hard work, respect for tradition, devotion to family, religious tolerance, and adherence to the law.

 

The DFA said the Philippines has been Canada’s largest source of temporary and skilled workers since 2010 (around 30,000 a year), beating India and China which previously dominated Canada’s labor market.

 

Meanwhile, Kenney praised the positive contributions of Filipinos in Canada, saying they are boosting the country’s economy and enriching its culture and society.

 

Kenney also said part of Canada’s success as a country of immigration is its focus on high levels of human capital, or people who can move upward in the economy. - VVP, GMA News

OFW guide: When attending conferences, just be yourself

Thriving in the intensely social, often status-driven environment of business conferences need not be as intimidating as it seems, says Harvard Business Review. Try just being yourself.

 

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org.

Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

 

"Conferences can make even the most outgoing person nervous. In such a socially intense environment, it's easy to have a mini identity crisis: Who am I? Why would people want to talk to me?

 

Forget those worries and be yourself. Resist the urge to drop a name or spout off your credentials, e.g., you have a fancy title or you've had work published. Instead, get to know people as people, free of titles and status. Let them get to know you in the same way.

 

Sure, it's nerve-wracking to introduce yourself without immediately identifying your role. But try asking open-ended questions and getting personal. Ask your fellow conference attendee what she's enjoying about the conference, or even how far she traveled to get there." - Reuters

 

This management tip was adapted from "How to Attend a Conference as Yourself" by Peter Bregman.

Fil-Brit to design uniforms for big mall in China

LONDON – It is an opportunity of a lifetime for an up-and-coming Filipino-British designer to design the uniforms for the staff of one of the biggest malls in China.

Jennivi Jordan, who was born in Parañaque but grew up in London, will be designing the women’s uniform of Joy City Mall in Beijing, China.

Jennivi Jordan

The 28-year-old Jordan finished a degree in fashion design at the University for the Creative Arts in Epsom, England.

Her love for the arts encouraged her to pursue a career in the fashion industry.

“I suppose I’ve always been interested in arts. Since I was in school, my favorite subject was arts,” she said.

“And then it was a natural progress when I went to college I studied arts and design,” she added.

When it was her turn to choose a specific field for her university studies, she recalled she was torn between two subjects she loved in college--animation and design.

“I was thinking of doing between fashion and animation but eventually I decided that fashion is my favorite subject because I love dressing up,” she said.

When she was taking her fashion design degree, she was an intern of one of London’s highly respected men’s fashion designers Stefan Orschel-Read. He became her mentor and is someone she looked up to when she was starting her career in the industry.

Dressing up was already her interest when she was a kid but when she was starting to create her own designs, she drew inspiration from everything that catches her eye.

“To be a great designer you have to take your inspirations from anything. It could be an object, culture, music and film. Anything inspires me and whatever interests me at that time,” she said.

Her biggest break in the fashion industry was in 2009 when she was given the opportunity to showcase her designs at Caribbean Fashion Week.

“I entered a competition here in London. I really didn’t think I was going to win and then they called out my name. I was really happy,” she said.

She won the fashion show international designer award given by the Young Designer International Awards Organization, established by a group of popular designers in London.

“The prize was a showcase in Jamaica which I’ve got to do and again that kind of lead to other opportunities,” she said.

The other opportunities she was referring to was the chance to design the uniform for the female employees of Joy City Malls-- one of the biggest malls in Beijing that houses both the most famous in the world and homegrown brand names.

It was the trust from her mentor Orschel-Read that led her to her recent big break in the industry.

“He got the contract with them but because he does men’s wear and the whole stuff is for both men and women, he contacted me,” she said.

Orschel-Read then asked her if she would like to join him for the project.

“He said you know, would you be interested in doing this project? And I said, yes, that’s amazing, of course,” she added.

The alumnus of the prestigious Central Saint Martin's also praised her work when he offered her the job.

“He said you know I really like your work. And I could see your kind of solid work will go really well with what their requirements are, so that’s how I got the job,” she shared.

Jordan is so grateful to her mentor for the break in her career. “I am really grateful to him because I got this job,” she said.

As a young designer, who is also starting to create her own name in the industry, she only has a simple advice to those dreaming of a similar break in one of the most exclusive fields in the world.

“First of all, experience is vital. Go out there, get experience. Learn about the industry,” she said.

“It’s true sometimes that it’s who you know and that it takes time but just work hard, be persistent, keep going because eventually you’ll get there,” she said.

Some Pinoys, Vietnamese in US boycott Chinese products

Dozens of Filipinos and Vietnamese Americans joined forces as they called for a boycott of Chinese products and urged Beijing to stop its creeping aggression toward countries around the South China Sea.

 

“Boycott Made-in-China,” said Eric Lachica of the U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance, which organized the rally held June 22 in front of the United Nations headquarters.

 

China’s claims over the West Philippines’ Sea in the Panatag Shoal (or Scarborough) and over Vietnam’s Sea are a recurring dispute. Both countries maintain China has been violating international laws of the sea.

 

Dr. Hoi Van Do, president of the Vietnamese community in Florida said his country and the Philippines are on the same side of the issue.

 

“Communist China dominates and takes over our islands and Scarborough Shoal of the Philippines,” he told The FilAm. “We are against them and we support you against them.”

 

Filipinos and Vietnamese leaders are slated to meet with the CEOs of major retailers like Wal-Mart, Costco, K-mart, Home Depot and others, urging them to stop selling Chinese-made merchandise. They said they would warn retail chains about communist China’s “imperialistic policies and undemocratic rule and widespread human and labor rights violations.”

 

Dr. Do and many rally organizers, such as Rene Ballenas and Bambi Lorica, pledged they were even willing to stay away from Chinese restaurants.

 

“We are global citizens scattered throughout the world who can mobilize and galvanize public opinion against China,” said rally speaker Joe Ramos said. “China’s export economy is very vulnerable.”

 

Lachica said the Boycott-China campaign will “change history,” harnessing the support of millions of Asian Americans. He said People Power in America could start with the 1.5 million Vietnamese in the U.S. and the approximately four million Filipino Americans.

 

“If only one million of us, Filipinos, out of the four million will not buy Chinese products or goods just once a month, we will create a huge financial penalty on China. China will lose almost a quarter of a billion dollars per year,” Lachica projected.

 

He stressed Filipinos are not against Chinese people or Chinese American friends, but “if we value our economy and our freedom of labor, we should boycott and not buy Chinese communist products.”

 

He said further that the global community should close ranks against Beijing’s bullying and be made aware that the communist government is using its might to encroach on smaller countries like the Philippines and Vietnam.

 

“This is treachery, an invasion of Philippine territory,” Loida Nicolas Lewis, chair of the U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance, said in a statement. “Their (China) ships are still in the Panatag Shoal and continue to violate international laws. We want this issue brought to the United Nations International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China has refused to agree. China’s government is belligerent.” -The FilAm

More jobs for Pinoys in Middle East, Canada

MANILA, Philippines - Hundreds of thousands of Filipino workers are needed in the Middle East, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

A construction boom in many parts of the Middle East is creating job opportunities for Filipinos. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates are undertaking big infrastructure projects that are estimated to cost $10 billion.

According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), there is a huge demand for construction workers in the region. Construction workers typically earn between $400 to $800 a month.

"Doon pa lang sa Qatar-Bahrain causeway, 75,000 na Pilipino na ang kailangan," POEA administrator Hans Cacdac said.

Meanwhile, in Canada, skilled workers such as pipe-fitters, welders and farmers are needed, while in Australia, there is a demand for nurses.

Cacdac said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) are negotiating with Australia and Canada for them to recognize the schools where Filipinos graduate from.

In Asia, Malaysia is undertaking a 5-year development program, which will require hundreds of thousands of workers.

Around 9,000 Filipinos will also be allowed to work in South Korea as factory workers this year.

Cacdac said only licensed recruitment agencies will be allowed to deploy workers. He said it is important for jobseekers to check the POEA website first to see if the recruitment agency is a licensed one. - Report from Henry Omaga-Diaz, ABS-CBN News

Sunlight-powered plastic bottle bulbs light up Pinoy homes

Around 25,000 low-income homes in the Philippines have been lit up after the launch of a scheme to fit sunlight-powered “bulbs” made from old plastic bottles.

In a country where 40% of the population lives off less than $2 a day, the rising cost of power leaves many unable to afford electricity. Some use candles as a light source, but when generations of family members share a small, dark space in shanty towns, accidental and destructive fires are often the result.

The Liter of Light project was launched six months ago by the My Shelter Foundation, a Philippines-based NGO which aims to provide light to 1 million of the roughly 12 million homes who are either still without light or live on the threshold of having their electricity shut down.

The scheme uses plastic bottles filled with a solution of bleached water, installed into holes made in shanty towns’ corrugated iron roofs, which then refracts the equivalent of 55W of sunlight into the room – during the day, at least. It takes five minutes to make, and using a hammer, rivet, metal sheets, sandpaper and epoxy, it costs $1 to produce.

Eduardo Carillo, a resident in one of Metro Manila’s many impoverished areas, said: “Before we had the bottle light, the walkways to our house were so dark and going inside made it even darker. The children are no longer scared – they are happy now and they laugh because they can play inside during the day instead of playing in the streets.”

The idea of using plastic bottles as a light source is not a new one – it was developed in Brazil by Alfredo Moser in 2002. But with the help of a group of MIT students, the solar bulb used in the Philippines has been modified to meet local needs.

My Shelter Foundation Founder and social entrepreneur Ilac Diaz explains: “We basically did a cheap kind of one-way lock using the metal sheet. Once you put in the bottle, it will not slip down anymore. That way even if the roof expanded or contracted with the heat, it would not affect the waterproofing and would keep the bottle intact for many years to com.”

Diaz believes in the importance of using “appropriate” green technologies for poorer countries:

“The challenge is how can the developing world come up with its own model to limit emissions of carbon- we cant afford to buy imported, patented or manufactured solutions from the developed world and can’t afford to wait until they become affordable.”

The programme is also creating jobs. What began with teaching and contracting one unemployed man to make the first 1000 bottles has evolved into an ongoing program that has creating more than 20 jobs in installing the bottles. “We wanted to prove one man could change his village,” said Diaz.

(Story courtesy of the Guardian UK)

Trisha Co Reyes tops International Peace Poster Contest

Filipino student and high-school freshman Trisha Co Reyes topped the 24th Annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest.

Judges found the work of the 13-year-old student of the St. Stephen’s High School in Sta. Cruz, Manila, best captured the message of promoting love and peace around the world, which was what the contest was all about.

Reyes’ work bested 126 short-listed entries from 350,000 submissions from 60 countries.

Lions International said, in a statement posted on its website, Reyes’ work won “for its originality, artistic merit and portrayal of this year’s theme ‘Children Know Peace.’”

“In my painting, the hidden child is me. Exhibited are children from all over the world who have love, freedom, unity and peace,” Reyes said of her painting.

“We, children, can do our part by studying hard and planting trees to save and protect Mother Earth,” Reyes said.

The young artist interpreted world cooperation by juxtaposing symbols of peace—a dove, a ribbon of flags, children joining hands—in her trademark mix of colors and intricate details.

Reyes will go to New York, accompanied by her mother, Conchita, and sister Joselle Clarisse, to receive her $5,000 prize on March 16, the annual celebration of the partnership between Lions International and the United Nations.

Some 23 other entries will receive merit awards and $500 each. Winning posters will be showcased at the 95th Annual Lions Clubs International Convention in Busan, South Korea, organizers said.

Lions Clubs International is one of the world’s largest service organizations with some 1.35 million members from around the world. It established the annual art contest “to foster a spirit of peace and international understanding in young people worldwide.”

“Lions around the world believe in promoting peace and the importance of encouraging young people to think creatively,” said Lions Clubs International president Wing-Kun Tam in a statement.

Last year, Reyes’ painting in oil and watercolor, “Life in the Forests,” was chosen best from over four million entries to a children’s painting competition sponsored by the UN Environment Program and the global firm Bayer.

(Story courtesy of Tarra Quismundo of Philippine Daily Inquirer)