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  5. The delegation from the MOL explained about recent developments regarding accreditation of sending organizations, and after the delegation returned to Mongolia, it was reported that the most recent detailed information on sending organizations would be sent.

Technical Intern Training Program

List of regular yearly or bi-annual consultation

August 2013

The delegation from the MOL explained about recent developments regarding accreditation of sending organizations, and after the delegation returned to Mongolia, it was reported that the most recent detailed information on sending organizations would be sent.

In the wake of the July 2010 revisions to immigration law, the Philippine government changed its JITCO liaison from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), also part of the DOLE. Then in June 2011, JITCO signed a Record of Discussions (R/D) with the POEA, but some confusion has arisen in the meantime due to the change in liaisons, and the number of technical intern trainees being accepted from the Philippines has decreased. Considering that now all the technical intern trainees who were accepted when TESDA was the liaison have returned home and the switch to the POEA is complete, and that the Japanese side is seeking to diversify its sending countries, a strengthening of relations with the POEA was deemed necessary for the program’s growth. And that is what gave rise to the delegation’s visit to the Philippines.

At the DOLE, which has jurisdiction over the POEA, the JITCO delegation paid their respects on August 5 to the Secretary, an Undersecretary, and the POEA Administrator. The Secretary said that as Japanese-owned companies are increasingly moving into the Philippines, with an eye toward the promotion of the maximum possible transfer of skills and technology, she was very interested in former technical intern trainees’ returning to Japan and working at Japanese-owned companies. Also, she expressed recognition that, in order to ensure there is no variance between the skills learned in the Philippines and those learned in Japan, it is important to match up the industries and lines of work. For its part, JITCO requested that the structure of the employment section in the Philippine Embassy in Japan, which conducts initial screening and registration, be strengthened so that the screening and registration procedures required by supervising organizations upon acceptance can proceed quickly. Also, JITCO requested that a dedicated section be established in the POEA so that the technical intern trainee program can be managed more expeditiously among the POEA’s wide range of tasks.

In the discussion with the POEA following the courtesy call, the POEA expressed its desire to strengthen the partnership between the organizations. Also, as for the screening of technical intern trainees, the POEA explained that it was actively addressing the program by, for example, establishing a special screening section within the POEA and making efforts to complete the procedures 3 to 4 days earlier than usual. Philippine officials also expressed their intent to broaden the sending industries to include construction and food manufacturing (can seaming, etc.), among others. Based on the understanding that the POEA’s restrictions on the number of sending organizations that could be used was causing a bottleneck in acceptances from the Philippines, JITCO called for those restrictions to be loosened. The POEA responded that since that matter was under the exclusive control of the Secretary of the DOLE, they would relay the request to the Secretary.

On the following day, August 6, after paying a courtesy call to TESDA, which had previously served as the Philippine liaison, JITCO held a program orientation for all sending organizations and asked for their understanding regarding the sending organizations’ role. It also held an exchange of views with the Association of Philippine Licensed Agencies for Technical Internship ProgramTIP (APLATIP), which is a voluntary group of sending organizations.

  • Center: DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, 2nd from left: DOLE Undersecretary Danilo P. Cruz, 2nd from right: POEA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac
  • Discussions with the POEA

Please direct inquiries regarding this matter to:

Second International Affairs Division, International Affairs Department
Tel: 03-4306-1151
Fax: 03-4306-1112

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