Trainees pay attention to a demonstration during the baking course. Photo courtesy of POLO-OWWA

 03 September 2018 LONDON—Around 200 overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) in the United Kingdom graduated from the London Skills Training and Reintegration Program, a free skills training workshop offered by the Philippine Embassy and the Philipine Overseas Labor Office – Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA), on 26 August 2018.

The graduates represented around 30 training courses ranging from baking, accessories making, bar tending, basic computer literacy, catering, financial literacy, leadership, photography, and many others.  This year marks the eighth year since the programme was first offered.  Each year, new courses have been added to the programme.

“Through the training programmes offered this past year under this programme, we have hopefully prompted you to apply yourselves to such pursuits – be it baking, photography, catering, food and beverage service, meat processing, skin care and make-up, or leadership and financial literacy – as may enable you to become more productive members of your community, more skilled elements of the overseas Filipino workforce, and more confident about the future because of various entrepreneurial possibilities that have now been opened to you,” said Ambassador Antonio M. Lagdameo during his keynote address to the graduates.

The workshop was designed to develop the business acumen of OFWs and to ignite their entrepreneurial spirit so that they can invest their hard-earned money in businesses that will in turn provide employment to more people.

“The London Skills Training and Reintegration Program is not a conventional training program,” said Labor Attaché Reydeluz Conferido.  “It uses a more practical and hands-on instructional approach which encourages the trainees to hone their skills in teamwork and collaboration.”

The Labor Attaché added that POLO-OWWA challenged the latest batch to help in further expanding the programme so that more OFWs can benefit from it.  “We express hope that the programme has inspired the trainees to pursue a path of life-long learning.  We hope that their families in the Philippines will also benefit from the new skills that they have learned.”

The training programme has seen several success stories, which were celebrated during the skills training showcase at the Baden Powell House last July.  Several OFWs have used their skills to start small and medium enterprises either in the UK or in the Philippines. END

Trainees work with fresh flowers during the floral arrangement course. Photo courtesy of POLO-OWWA

Ambassador Antonio M. Lagdameo delivers the keynote message during the graduation ceremony last 26 August 2018. Photo courtesy of POLO-OWWA