DTI commits to train, assist OFWS in putting up businesses

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will help train overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) put up their own businesses amid the aggressive push of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for Filipino workers abroad to have a stable income in the country and eventually put an end to the cycle of going to work abroad.

The business training and mentorship program between the DMW and the DTI was one of the eight agreements that were signed during the celebration of the 28th National Migrant Workers Day held on Wednesday, June 7, in Mandaluyong City.

Based on the agreement signed between DMW Secretary Susan Ople and Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, the DTI will assist the OFWS in the business registration process and include OFWS and OFW families in DTI’S business training and development programs.

The DTI will also hold financial literacy training courses for OFWS in partnership with DMW offices worldwide and OWWA regional offices for OFW families nationwide.

OFW products and services will also be included in DTI trade fairs and the companies, products and services of OFWS will be linked up with large companies and government agencies to improve market access and promotions.

“The DTI will also issue a certificate to OFWS or members of their families who successfully registered their business and underwent entrepreneurship training, as an endorsement to any livelihood or financial assistance to be granted by the DMW to OFW beneficiaries,” said Ople.

The DMW, on the other hand, is tasked to identify, evaluate, and submit a list of potential beneficiaries and applicants to existing DTI programs and services.

A Joint Technical Working Group is created to monitor the implementation of the DMW-DTI agreement while continuing to strengthen its implementation and work for its expansion through Migrant Workers Offices (MWOS) around the world and in cooperation with various local governments.

“Our OFWS contribute to our economy through their dollar remittances but at some point in their lives, they would also need to come home and create sustainable sources of income through entrepreneurship, sound investments or by landing a better job here at home,” said Ople.

“Through DTI, our Ofwentrepreneurs and/or their families would be able to access business training and mentorship programs that would enable them to stay together while also providing jobs to others,” she added.

Aside from the DTI, the DMW inked an agreement with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), a national government agency which aims to promote the sustained growth of cooperatives in the Philippines. OFWS will be encouraged to participate and join cooperatives to build further opportunities for livelihood and income.

The DMW also entered into new agreements to strengthen its existing relationships with civil society organizations known for promoting the welfare of OFWS such as Wimler Foundation Hong Kong Ltd., which conducts mentoring and counselling services for OFWS, and Ofwtailored pre-migration orientation seminars created by Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiatives (ATIKHA).