400 employees per year – The business community is looking for skilled workers in the Philippines

In the beginning, as is so often the case, there is the vile money and the great desire for a better life for yourself and your family. It is so easy to imagine the main motives that drive several million Filipinos abroad as guest workers every year. While the economy in this country is more or less stagnant and there is a shortage of approximately 200,000 skilled workers in all sectors, on the other side of the world there are a large number of hard-working and well-educated people, many of them young, who on average only earn a few earn pesos per hour.

First step towards official recruitment
After the signing of a declaration of intent in Manila, which was reported by ‘Krone’, it is now expected that by 2027, around 400 Filipinos will come to the country every year and, with the help of the red-white-red card, will find work that suits their needs. course. in the medium term there could be even more. The demand to move to the Alpine Republic is obviously high among the intended employees. Our country attracts not only with the international charm of the ‘Sound of Music’ brand, but also with attractive and safe income and social security. In addition, there has been a strong community of former guest workers from the Far East since the 1970s. The positive word of mouth from those who have stayed here is also generating interest from distant relatives.

Although bad memories of not so successful guest worker projects are now emerging in many places, you actually do not have to be afraid of the women and men from the island state. A local inspection in Manila revealed what local experts and businesses appreciate about Filipinos: “It’s a mix of friendliness, politeness, very hard work and a great sense of family. While a Thai just laughs in your face but doesn’t really understand you, the Filipinos have a good sense of humor that immediately catches the eye,” says a seasoned expert in the country. A hug for foreign Europeans can happen to most people .

‘Filipino Power’ Powers KTM Motorcycles in Asia
However, friendliness and the like are obviously not a strong currency in the real economy, which is why hard work and commitment are particularly noticeable during a company visit. The domestic motorcycle giant KTM has also been relying on ‘made in Philippines’ especially for the Asian market for several years: “The employees here are paid by the hour and like to work overtime. Sometimes there is a lack of accuracy, but we are extremely satisfied,” says the plant manager.

What paid off in the Far East should now also work in Europe.

“We have to decide who comes to our country!”
Chamber of Commerce manager Karlheinz Kopf is leading the search for skilled workers and has clear words about this in an interview with the “Krone”:

“Kron”:Mr Kopf, skilled immigration is intended to combat the shortage of skilled workers. How high is the demand at the location really?
Kopf: Almost every sector is facing a labor shortage. We have more than 200,000 open vacancies. Without consistent countermeasures, this gap will increase to more than 500,000 by 2040. This will impact every sector and every region. There are of course a number of measures with which we can mobilize people in Austria, but this will not work without qualified immigration.

What rules are needed to ensure that only migrants who want to work enter the country?
When it comes to immigration, we have to rely on countries like the Philippines, which are very close to us culturally, at the same time have high levels of education in a wide range of training areas and want to bring people into the international labor market. market – a win-win situation. And of course it must always be about controlled immigration: we must decide who comes to our country. We do this if we rely on these types of concrete and manageable collaborations.

What is your assessment of the potential for immigration from the Philippines – can we expect an influx from the Far East?
Certainly not in a hurry, but the potential is very great. But that also applies to the Western competition. During the trip we felt that Europe and Austria in particular are extremely popular. Almost none of our delegation could avoid taking a series of selfies with the Filipinos during the various meetings – there are already several thousand Filipinos living and working with us (note: double the number compared to Germany). The Philippines has its own ministry for employees who want to go abroad. The placement takes place through registered and certified agencies. They will soon also open their own office in Austria as a point of contact for Filipinos and as a connection to our authorities.