The City of Perth, capital of Western Australia has the potential to be a popular destination for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). This is because the region is now experiencing a boom in their construction and mining industry. To accomplish the numerous infrastructure projects, Perth needs to recruit foreign workers.

At present, Western Australia has many job openings for engineers and other qualified workers. According to David Blizzard, a recruitment specialist, Australian employers prefer to hire high-skilled Filipino workers.

The ability to communicate well in English plus the ability to adjust in multi-cultural settings makes OFWs in-demand in Perth.

"Filipinos have good English skills, a culture used to working overseas in a sense that's its not new to them and they integrate well with others, they do have good skills which is another important factor and most or all Filipinos I've met are genuinely nice people,” said Blizzard.

The recruitment specialist added, "If they have a good, skilled background, especially in trade skills: heavy duty mechanics, boiler makers, fabricators, they can be hired. The opportunities are definitely there and the salary range is, if they're working in a mine site, it would go up to the $60,000-$100,000 mark," he added.

Based on the current exchange rate of the Australian dollar to the peso, a $A100,000 or $84,000 annual salary is equivalent to P4 million.

The surge in employment of foreign workers is expected to continue for the next five years (2012). It is also projected to produce 20,000 jobs yearly.

Successful applicants will sign a four-year job contract. They can also apply for permanent residency and Australian citizenship.

As of this writing, Western Australia has more or less 12,000 Filipino migrants, 3,000 are composed of migrant workers.

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