Jinggoy urges gov't to tap Australia's "Work and Holiday"
visa program for RP's young professionals

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has called on the government, specifically the Philippine Diplomatic Mission in Australia led by Ambassador Ernesto de Leon, to tap the Australian Work and Holiday visa program to enable young Filipinos to experience holiday-and-casual work in that country.

The program allows tertiary education graduates and students between the ages of 18 and 30 from participating countries to work in each other's country for up to 12 months while on a holiday vacation to subsidize their holiday, get experience and exposure in overseas work, and to interact and familiarize with their host country's industries. Visa quota for the program starts at the minimum of 100, and is increased every year.

"This is a great program through which our young professionals and would-be professionals could be trained on their potential future permanent jobs in Australia. This would be another competitive advantage of them over job aspirants from other countries who had not undergone such training," Estrada, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, and of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Labor and Employment, said.

"However, our Mission in Australia has not yet maximized the program, which many countries have been benefiting from for a long time already," the senator lamented.

The senator noted reports that Australia, over the years, has been expanding its Work and Holiday visa program by signing agreements with new countries and increasing visa quotas for countries that are already participating in the program.

The program is being pursued by Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Senator Chris Evans.

On August 7, 2008, Evans entered into agreements with Indonesia and Malaysia for implementation of the program. On August 9, Thailand, which became the first Southeast Asian country to participate in the program on July 2004, has received commitment from Evans to increase the visa quota to 500 program beneficiaries per year. On August 1, 2008, he also increased the visa quota for another participant, Chile.

Australia also has Work and Holiday visa agreements with Turkey and the United States which have benefited thousands of young workers over the years. It is also currently finalizing details of the same agreement with Bangladesh.

"These major developments in other countries should serve as a wake-up call on our government to work aggressively to tap the Work and Holiday visa program and maximize its benefits for our young countrymen. Such great opportunity for our people should not be left untapped just because our officials have been sleeping on their job," Estrada added.