'Digital recruitment process fueling Saudi's demand for Pinoy workers'

MANILA, Philippines — The Saudi government’s decision to ease the recruitment of foreign workers by digitalizing the hiring process has been fueling the kingdom’s demand for Filipino domestic workers.

There has been “an unprecedented increase” in Saudi Arabia’s demand for Filipino workers since the Gulf state launched their own recruitment services that do not depend on recruitment agencies, according to a report by HelperChoice — an employer-helper matchmaking platform.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Development opened “Musaned” — a recruitment portal where domestic helpers can obtain e-visa in three days as long as they meet the financial, social and legal criteria.

This year, the Saudi labor ministry launched a new service called “Maaroufah” which cuts the recruitment charges by 50% for prospective Saudi employers that will hire Filipino maids.

HelperChoice said that following Saudi Arabia’s latest move to ease recruitment process, more than 10,000 new ads from Saudi employers looking for Filipino domestic workers were posted on HelperChoice’s website in less than three days.

“It is therefore a great opportunity for Filipino citizens looking for a domestic work job abroad,” HelperChoice said in a statement.

In the first seven months, the US continued to top all sources of overseas Filipino remittances with a 36.8% share, followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong and Kuwait, cenral bank data shows. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral