Canada Payback to Philippines workers

Canada looks to Philippines for workers

Joanne Lee-Young, Vancouver Sun

Published: Monday, January 21, 2008

Western Canada is turning increasingly to the Philippines as employers here struggle to fill tens of thousands of job vacancies.

B.C.'s Ministry of Economic Development is expected to announce soon a major move similar to Saskatchewan's memorandum of understanding with Manila to bring 5,000 Filipino workers to that province this year.

Alberta and Manitoba are after the same kind of framework.

Crisanto Esquibel (left), who is from the Philippines, has been working with Penfolds Roofing thanks to help from Penfolds vice-president, Steve Peterson.View Larger Image View Larger Image

Crisanto Esquibel (left), who is from the Philippines, has been working with Penfolds Roofing thanks to help from Penfolds vice-president, Steve Peterson.

Ward Perrin, Vancouver Sun

And the Philippines' ambassador in Ottawa, Jose Brillantes, said in a telephone interview that as his government considers plans to set up an office in Western Canada that would streamline the hiring process, he would like that office to be set up in Vancouver.

"They are trying to decide where and my recommendation is Vancouver because we already have an established consulate there, as opposed to opening a new post somewhere else like Calgary or Edmonton or Saskatoon or Regina."

Penfolds Roofing, however, already has an unusual head start on tapping Filipinos' historical penchant for working abroad for higher wages than they can find at home and sending money back to their families.

Most B.C. companies turning to the Philippines for workers typically use recruiting agents and consultants in Vancouver and Manila.

But Penfolds, a 70-year-old Vancouver firm that also does renovations such as adding skylights and gables, takes an entirely different approach.

Steve Peterson, vice-president at Penfolds, and his wife Leah pioneered the company's program to hire workers from the Philippines five years ago.

The company was already losing workers back then to the "nicer jobs," Steve Peterson said. "They wanted to work on new construction and not deal with the homeowner standing out there yelling at you, telling you to be careful about the rosebush."

The company at first tried using recruiting agents, but the results just weren't enough.

And so, they ventured to a next step.

"My father-in-law [Leah's father] was in construction for most of his life in the Philippines. He's retired now, but he was certainly capable of gathering people whose character was good and who had the skill that was required," said Peterson.

"He didn't need to put up an advertisement or interview people. You know people in your own family or previous co-workers or something like that, and he recommended them."

Peterson then flew to the Philippines with his laptop and recruited his first carpenter, sitting "in the house of my father-in-law."

That's where he met Crisanto Esquibel, a soft-spoken, 39-year-old experienced carpenter, who "looked at the videos on my laptop and immediately recognized the materials and what was going on and was able to explain it to the other people in the room. Some of the men interested in working had all gathered around."

The Petersons also tapped their church network. For 10 years, they belonged to a Filipino, "Pentecostal-type" of church in Vancouver linked to over 100 churches in the Philippines.

"The church wound up referring one third, or maybe 40 per cent," of the 75 carpenters they have hired from the Philippines, said Peterson.
"The bishop in the Philippines met me and looked at my staff, called in some field officers. They put out the word to their local churches and a pastor would say, 'My member is qualified to do this kind of work and I would recommend him,' and I would pick it up from there."

The couple has since "broken away" from this Vancouver group, but continues to be in "active fellowship" with the Philippines' church.

On that first trip they hired Esquibel, who is also Leah's father's cousin. They flew him to Vancouver, along with three other carpenters, "a brother-in-law of my wife, a member of our church in Manila, and a relative of a relative in the same community as my father-in-law," said Peterson.

From there, the group has grown quickly. The church supplied a good chunk of the workers, but individual, personal referrals have been key too.

"Unfortunately, some Filipinos have been victims. Different people have said there is a job abroad, that they have to pay money to get application forms, do testing and training and the rest of it," said Peterson.

"For us, when Esquibel refers his cousin or someone he has worked with before, they have personal knowledge that the job is real."

Peterson added that Penfolds pays for everything except documents that are needed for the initial application, such as a valid passport and copies of transcripts.

Once a worker is hired, "we take care of the cost of the exit permit, the airfare, everything."

In his first three months in Vancouver, Esquibel was promoted from carpenter to foreman and later to field supervisor.

"It's a good deal here. In the Philippines, it's hot and hard and the salary is in pesos. Here, it is in Canadian dollars. There is a big difference.

Esquibel's wife and five children have also moved and now live with him in Vancouver.

jlee-young@png.canwest.com

- - -

FILIPINO FACTS

n The Philippines is the third-largest source of immigrants to Canada, according to the 2006 Canadian census (China was No. 1, India was No. 2).

n The Philippines has consistently been in the top five sources of immigrants to Canada since 1981.

n There are currently 62,960 Filipinos living in Metro Vancouver.

n That Metro Vancouver number reflects an increase of 36.2 per cent from 2001 to 2006.

Source: 2006 Census