Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants
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h 2011 Master Thesis R ESKILLING tthhee R ESKILLING SS KKIILLLLSS ooff tthhee SS KKIILLLLEEDD?? A report analyzing the pre-departure and Hong- Kong based reintegration training programs and their effects on the lives of Filipino Domestic Workers in Hong Kong Researched and written by Renske van Milink In collaboration with: Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants Reskilling the Skills of the Skilled? A report analyzing the pre-departure and Hong-Kong based reintegration training programs and their effects on the lives of Filipino Domestic Workers in Hong Kong Cover photo by Renske van Milink: Filipino Domestic Workers gathering on a Sunday at Central Hong Kong, China. August 2011 Author: Renske van Milink Student no. 3275825 International Development Studies Utrecht University Supervisor: Dr. M. Leung Faculty of Geosciences Utrecht University Heidelberglaan 2 Utrecht Postbus 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht The Netherlands 1 ABSTRACT In this globalizing and gradually more competitive world even the lowest skilled jobs in the employment market increasingly require workers to (re)skill themselves and obtain training certificates. This is true for the (highly) educated Filipino women that aspire to migrate to Hong Kong as domestic workers and are obliged to take a household training sponsored by the Philippine government before their departure. Once in Hong Kong they have the choice to again take skill trainings but this time to prepare them for their migration back to their home country. The main goal of this paper is to compare the two to types of training programs and to determine the impact they have on the lives of the Filipino Domestic Workers. This paper will first argue that the two training programs are fundamentally different in all aspects ranging from their goal to their usefulness. It will then demonstrate that even though this migration „deskills‟ the women, the Hong Kong-based training programs can help mitigate the effects of this by offering them new employment opportunities as entrepreneurs. Conversely, the pre-departure household trainings can have adverse (long-term) effects on the future of the FDWs. Finally, recommendations will be given on how to improve the two training programs and make the migration of these women more edifying. Key Words: training program, Filipino Domesti c Workers, deskilling, reskilling, Philippine government, TESDA household training, FWRC, Bayanihan, Hong Kong 2 PREFACE This study about skills development from female Filipino domestic workers was conducted and written by Renske van Milink, a student from the University of Utrecht in close collaboration with the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants over a period of almost four months: from February to May 2011 in Hong Kong, China. Hong Kong was chosen as a destination for a research/internship since it is an interesting location for research about Migration due to the fact that it is a famous destination for many migrants with different ethnic and professional backgrounds. There were also personal reasons for this choice: the author‟s profound interest in Asia and the topic of Skilled Migration. This paper is meant to provide concrete data, gather new information and hopefully benefit the Filipino migrant community in general, and the migrant organizations in specific since it can be relevant for their different campaigns and advocacy programs. It is also a component of the International Development Studies Master of Sciences (MSc) degree of University Utrecht and is largely based on an internship report that was handed in to the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants at the beginning of June. This document was made possible with the support of different (government and migrant) organizations working for and with immigrants among which: the Consulate of the Philippines, Mission for Migrants, FMW, Comadrona, United Filipinos in Hong Kong, the FWRC and the Bayahani Center and several others. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to begin by thanking my parents. They were, first and foremost, the impetus behind this project. They have always inspired me and given me unconditional support. Their understanding of the world, their faith in humanity, their interest in other cultures and of course their international background, experiences and lifestyle have been an immense source of knowledge and inspiration. I have not only greatly learned from the places I have seen and the people I have met during my life with them but I have also matured a lot as a student and as an individual. The international lifestyle I inherited from my parents and then decided to pursue makes me feel like I am part of the 200 million global migrants that have left their countries of origin and started a new life- sometimes several times over- until finally managing to feel at home almost anywhere in the world. I want to thank Professor Maggi Leung for her critical vision and support, but especially for her patience. She showed great interest in this project and often challenged me to raise my expectations of myself. The valuable advices and feedback she provided really helped this project realize its potential. I admire her pertinent professionalism and I am grateful that we had this opportunity to work together. I owe a lot of gratitude to my host organization The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) that gave me the opportunity to carry out this research. It is a small organization but the impact they have regionally, locally and on people‟s lives through their various activities is beyond measure. It is difficult to express my gratitude to Rey Asis in words. He is an exceptional committed altruistic activist with a clear vision of the current state of affairs and problems in the world who somehow always manages to work with a positive attitude. Also Ramon Bultron was a great inspiration to me. His hours spent travelling showed me that when one has goals in mind one should never stop at borders or at other boundaries- one should always dream and reach further. The rest of the team was also extremely supportive and the whole experience would not have been the same without them. Indeed, I am very grateful to have met, interacted and worked side by side with Aaron Ceradoy, Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, Eman Villanueva, Janet Carnay, Jun Tellez, Joselito Natividad, Lola Chih-Hsien Huang, Norman Uy Carnay, Vicky Casia Cabantac and Pastor Joram Calimutan. They are all unique and inspiring individuals. I also very much appreciate the efforts of Cynthia Tellez, Marilou Aguila, Rowena dela Cruz and Maza in particular for their interest in the project and their help with the collection of data. Of course I also want to acknowledge the staff of the Consulate of the Philippines in Hong Kong for their collaboration. I want to deeply thank the Filipino community and in particular all the Filipinas who I encountered. Rumor has it that the Filipinos are the most happy and gullible people. I have little doubt that this is not just a rumor. Countless times I have been amused by and laughed with them. Thank you for your support. Salamat my friends! Finally, I want thank my sisters and my friends „back home‟ - you know who you are- for their support and encouragement. They stood by my side when times were rough and there seemed no end in sight. They constantly stayed in touch with me during my time in Hong Kong, they scolded me when I procrastinated, praised me when I completed anything having to do with this project and celebrated with me anything worth celebrating. They truly made studying at University Utrecht and my time in Hong Kong an “unforgettable lifetime experience”. Renske van Milink August 2011 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…………………………………………….……………………...…………….. 2 PREFACE…………………………………………………………………….………………. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………….……………………………………………...... 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS………………….…………………………………………….......... 5 LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………… 8 LIST OF TABLES………………….……………………………………………….……....... 8 LIST OF PICTURES………………….……………………………………..……………...... 8 LIST OF ABREVIATIONS………………….……………………………………………...... 9 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….………….. 10 1.1. Research Objective…………………………………………………………………. 13 1.2. Relevance of the Research………………………………………………………….. 14 1.3. Framework of the Thesis…………………………………………………………… 15 1.3.1. Regional Framework ………………………………………………………. 15 1.3.2. Host Organization………………………………………………………...... 17 1.3.3. The Research Process 17 1.4. Structure of the Thesis……………………………………………………………… 18 2. LITERATURE REVIEW..……………………………………………….………………… 19 2.1. The Migration-Development nexus…………………………………….…………... 19 2.2. The Asian Migration..……………………………………………….……………… 22 2.3. Domestic Workers in Hong Kong.…………………………………………………. 23 2.4. Filipino Domestic Workers…………………………………………………………. 26 2.5. Discussion…………………………………………………………………………... 28 2.6 Conceptual Model…………………………………………………………………… 30 3. METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………………….. 33 3.1. Data Collection……………………………………………………………………... 33 3.1.1. The Survey…………………………………………………………………. 33 3.1.2. The Focus Groups………………………………………………………….. 36 3.1.3. The Interviews……………………………………………………………… 37 3.1.4. Participatory Observation………………………………………………….. 37 3.2. Limitations of the Research………………………………………………………… 37 4. WHERE „IT‟ ALL STARTS……………………………………………………………….. 40 5 5. THE PRE-DEPARTURE TRAINING PROGRAM………………………………………... 46 5.1. Goal…………………………………………………………………………………. 46 5.2. Content of the programs……………………………………………………..……... 47 5.3. Length……………………………………………………………………................ 48 5.4. Cost………………………………………………………………………................ 49 5.5. Location…………………………………………………………………………….