AUSTRIA OPENS JOBS FOR PINOY PROFESSIONALS, SKILLED WORKERS

THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced employment opportunities in Austria, particularly for professionals and skilled workers in the healthcare, information technology, tourism and hospitality sectors.

This following the signing of an agreement between the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Republic of Austria on Wednesday.

DMW officer-in-charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said he signed the memorandum of agreement with State Secretary Susanne Kraus-Winkler of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Labor and Economy seeking to address Austria’s shortage of skilled workers and at the same time provide job opportunities for professional Filipino workers.

“Through this agreement, we aim to facilitate the deployment of Filipino professionals and skilled workers to Austria in a manner that is safe, ethical, sustainable, and mutually beneficial. Our workers, in return, will contribute to addressing labor shortage in Austria and to sharing their expertise and commitment to the economic development of Austria,” Cacdac said.

Under the agreement, around 500 Filipino workers will be deployed annually to meet the Austria’s demand of around 75,000 to 200,000 job openings across all industries, including sectors of healthcare, construction and engineering, information technology, and tourism and hospitality.

According to Kraus-Winkle, the Philippines is the first country which Austria has entered into a memorandum of understanding that covers all areas of mutual cooperation on recruitment and vocational training.

“Austria has many decades of excellent experience with qualified workers from the Philippines, and we are truly grateful for the reliable support,” said Kraus-Winkler. 

Cacdac said the partnership reaffirms the long-standing friendship, cooperation and mutual respect between the Philippines and Austria, particularly in the field of labor and employment. 

The MOU ensures strengthened protection of the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant workers, and support while they undergo skills assessment, education, and equivalence training and licensing in Austria. 

Meanwhile, the DMW and BMAW also agreed to develop a work-based vocational training framework and other technical capacity-building initiatives to upgrade the skills and expertise of Filipino workers.  

Citing DMW data in 2022, Cacdac said there were about 5,824 Filipino workers in Austria. Of this number, a total of 1,220 are in the hospitality and food service industry, while 749 are in the health and social work service sector.