Manitoba, a province in Canada needs to hire lots of foreign workers such as plumbers, engineers, and carpenters and they prefer Filipino workers. To meet the labor demands of the province, the provincial government of Manitoba recently signed an agreement with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The said agreement provides the details of the partnership that would result to the recruitment of skilled OFWs to Manitoba. It also contains guidelines to ensure welfare and protection of skilled OFWs. It was  signed by Labor Secretary, Rosalinda Baldoz and Manitoba Premier, Greg Selinger at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

According to the official from Manitoba, the agreement was fair to both parties. Selinger said, "For us, it's an equal partnership. Nobody's better than the other."

Baldoz on the other hand informed that since the population of Manitoba is aging and they are currently suffering from low birth rate, the Canadian province is expected to hire an estimate of 20,000 new workers every year by 2016.

The Labor chief said, "In the next thee years, the number of retirements is expected to increase by 30 percent and the need for more workers, including the transfer of work-based knowledge, will be very critical to Manitoba's labor force stability."

She added, "Also, I understand that Manitoba has low birth and unemployment rates and the province looks at annual immigration targets (of) around 20,000 by 2016 to shore up its manpower banks. Current arrivals number only a little half of the yearly target."

Selinger agreed with what Baldoz said. He said, "As Secretary Baldoz said, many of our existing labor forces are five to 10 years away from retirement. (This is) the baby boomer generation. (So) this opens up opportunities all across the board—in the trades like carpentry, plumbing, electricians."

"This also opens up opportunities in the professions—engineers, accountants, medical professionals, nurses and doctors. We believe we'll have opportunities all across the labor spectrum in Manitoba," Selinger added.

According to Selinger, hired skilled OFWs in Manitoba Canada can apply for Canadian citizenship only after six months of working there.