Local Employment Opportunities

If you cannot find that company sponsored job in the Philippines then finding work will be up to you – assuming you have acquired the required visa. Really, the list of prohibited occupations is not a big issue because most of them are very lowly paid anyway. Finding work in a Filipino company will be more challenging than finding work in a company managed by expats. I say managed as opposed to owned because the Philippine government place restrictions on foreign ownership of business and properties in the Philippines.

Of course there is always the ‘black’ job market. Plenty of legitimate businesses such as bars and resorts have expat managers who are not legally permitted to work. There are also many businesses owned by an expat that have a local front person, often ostensibly the ‘manager’, but reporting directly back to the quiet Kano sitting in the corner.

There are jobs to be had teaching English, mainly to Koreans, and also providing services that require either native English speakers or as talent in commercials. These jobs do exist and I have done all of them but TV and Radio work is often a case of feast or famine.

However, if you live here long enough, pretty soon something will come along. You might have a lot of competition for the post but then nothing ventured, nothing gained.