Why is China suddenly seeking Filipino English teachers?
In a lesson to Manila that it pays to have close ties with China, Beijing shifts its attitude towards workers from the Philippines
Dreaming about bringing prosperity to his family, Marvin Tuazon has travelled thousands of miles from the Philippines to China for work. Teaching Chinese children English has helped him earn twice as much as he made at home, but it is a lonely job. After all, the 31-year-old from Pampanga represents half of the Filipinos in Taian, a city with a population of 5 million.
But Tuazon may soon have more company. Recruitment agencies in the Philippines have seen a growing demand from China, as Beijing loosens controls on labour imports in a bid to draw Manila – already a close ally – even closer.
“We have received a lot of calls from Chinese companies recently,” said Brian Oliva, a manager of Manila-based recruitment agency QRD International Placement. “Most calls were for hiring Filipino English-language teachers, but some Chinese companies were looking for Filipino engineers, too.”
Oliva said those inquiries had been so rare in previous years that his company had not bothered to serve the Chinese market.
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Mark King Eclevia, a director of Manpower Alliance in Manila, shared a similar experience. “This trend started just now,” said Eclevia, who has been in the labour exporting business for more than six years and had not had a Chinese client until last month. In April, his company filed more than 50 visa applications for teachers who got offers from China. “I believe China is going to be a big market for us,” he said.