The Philippine Overseas Labor Office and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Abu Dhabi successfully held the “Sa Pinas Ikaw ang Mam/Sir” (SPIMS) – a reintegration program for licensed Filipino teachers at the Novotel Al Bustan in Abu Dhabi last November 22.
The day-long program saw the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) unyielding advocacy in assisting Filipino teachers working abroad to begin their seamless transition from being OFWs, whether they’re working as teachers or other occupations here in the UAE, to practicing their professions at their chosen locations.
SPIMS 2019 in Abu Dhabi was done in collaboration with the Philippine Normal University, the National Organization of Professional Teachers Inc. (NOPTI)and the Filipino International Teachers Society – UAE (FITS-UAE).
In attendance were Labor Attache Atty. Alejandro Padaen, Welfare Officer Melvin Caseda, National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NCRO) Officer-in-Charge Director Roel Martin, PNU Online Refresher Course (ORC) and SPIMS Coordinator Jeffery Ginez, along with 125 licensed teachers.
Padaen and Caseda welcomed all participants as both officials shared related programs that the teachers can benefit from once they take part in the SPIMS program and begin their journey from being OFWs to teaching the next generation of young Filipinos back home, in an attempt to reverse the migration rate.
Background behind SPIMS
SPIMS is the brainchild of different Philippine government agencies including DOLE, Department of Education (DepEd,) Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC), Commission on High Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and PNU for licensed Filipino teachers seeking employment once they arrive back home.
Martin explained that the qualified participants for Online Refresher Course (ORC) would be retrained on the competencies needed for the Teacher 1 position at DepEd, get hired in their local mainstream and secure a stable job without having to leave their homes and families, and work in school-affiliated occupations available in the Philippine government and private labor markets.
Ginez shared that teaching the ORC in the K to 12 Curriculum for the OFW- professional teachers is a pro bono service provided as an extension activity of the PNU. He further explained the nitty-gritty of the SPIMS ORC implementation. Among the relevant topics discussed were components of the modules, revised SPIMS processes, communication platforms, updates of the graduates and characteristics of ORC graduates.
