TEAM CANADA EYES BPO AND TOURISM; FILIPINOS TOP TEMPORARY WORKERS LIST
1st row: Ambassador Gatan flanked by Consuls General Pedro Chan (R) and Jose Ampeso (L) and officers of the Philippine posts in Canada 2nd Row: Tourism and Labor Representatives with staff of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto
The Philippine business process outsourcing and the tourism sectors will be the focus of renewed and refreshed approaches for promotion and market development activities in Canada.
This was the consensus among the heads and of the Philippine Foreign Service Posts in Canada as they convened, in Toronto, the first of a series of economic diplomacy workshops to help build and strengthen bilateral economic relations between the Philippines and Canada, and further develop commercial linkages along corporate, entrepreneurial and human resource development tracks.
Ambassador Leslie B. Gatan remarked that "our economic diplomacy mandate (from the Foreign Secretary and the President) is very clear" and that in all these, "cultural diplomacy will underpin our efforts, especially on tourism."
Ambassador Gatan conveyed that Team Canada will focus on promoting trade, investments and tourism, while working for further development assistance for the country. Ambassador Gatan further acknowledged the key role played by remittance from Filipino in Canada that is spurring consumption demand all over the Philippines.
Ambassador Gatan noted that while the Philippines has already surpassed India in voice-related services - becoming the call center capital of the world, there would still be room to grow, and the Philippines is well positioned to draw lessons and forge partnerships with Canadian companies who maintain their global lead in the offshoring and outsourcing business.
Noting that Canada has emerged as the best place to do business in the world in a recent survey, Ambassador Gatan drew parallels between Canada and the Philippines in that both countries are diversifying their respective export market base, and both countries have strong banking and finance fundamentals.
Ambassador Gatan further stressed the opportunity presented by the "non-voice BPO" - those services that provide allied banking, transcription, engineering, and other services to clients worldwide.
Tourism will further drive people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Ambassador Gatan emphasized the importance of branding and the ease of booking destinations - and Team Canada would look forward to the outcome of current efforts to help define and amplify the national pitch.
"We will aim to take a larger share of the pie," said Ambassador Gatan -- referring to the more than 11 million Canadians who plan to take a vacation outside of their country in 2012, as the Ambassador expressed optimism that tourism arrivals from Canada can be increased 25% in the coming year.
The renewed focus on enhancing commercial and economic relationships draws a spotlight on the growing number of Filipinos in Canada.
Ambassador Gatan notes that "since 2007, the number of Filipino temporary workers coming into Canada has been increasing, and in 2010, Filipinos registered the largest number of entrants among other foreign workers."
Ambassador Gatan expressed the hope that the experience of these incoming workers "will augur well for realigning the educational and skills training programs in the Philippines" to facilitate skills matching and job compensation for our countrymen who wish to seek employment overseas, and those who wish to be reintegrated back into the Philippine setting.
The workshop also affirmed the new country team framework in Canada, with the other heads Consul General Pedro Chan of Toronto, Consul General Jose Ampeso committing to harmonizing policies and procedures and undertaking benchmarking and adopting best practices in providing services to individuals as well as enterprises in Canada.