Byline: Raymund F. Antonio

Four hundred thousand jobs will soon be available to Filipino and other foreign workers in the Canadian province of Alberta with the scheduled signing of a labor agreement between the Philippines and Canada.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE)

"Alberta has a booming oil and gas industry and is projected to be requiring around 400,000 foreign workers in the next two years," Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion said.

Brion signed similar agreements with the provincial governments of Saskatchewan and British Columbia in December 2007 and last January, respectively.

Brion said a similar agreement will be signed with Premier Gary Doer of Manitoba this month.

"The purpose of the agreement is to strengthen areas of cooperation in the fields of labor, employment, and human deployment and development between the Philippines and the respective Canadian provinces," he said.

According to Brion, other Canadian provinces have expressed interest in hiring Filipino workers for various job positions there since Filipinos' capability could help address its skills and manpower shortage.

He said British Columbia will be in need of hospitality and construction workers for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The province will be hiring more contract and permanent migrant workers, estimated at 30,000, with specific skills every year.

The DoLE chief added that Canada is also in need of workers in the healthcare and education sectors.

In all, some 1.9 million foreign workers are needed in the labor markets of Canada, he said.

In anticipation of the influx of OFWs in Canada, DoLE is set to open a Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Vancouver, the capital of British Columbia. It will also put up a Canadian Desk to assist Filipino workers seeking jobs in Canada.