How i ended up applying under FSW noc 7265 (welding and related machines operator) -
(an OFW's life story, please share yours too, would like to learn from other's lives)
Graduated De La Salle University BSC Commerce Major Marketing Mgt Apr 2000.
Jan2001 to dec2002 First job is one-of-three Marketing supervisors for Chowking Head O, monitoring all CK stores
from Makati down south until Bicol and Palawan. Chowking was at its prime by that time, i did a good job, performed all
duties well. Happy with my job but then again, when you excel at what you do Corporate politics and envious people
will try to pull you down. Didn't like the office setting and resigned. Noticed that marketing materials suppliers were making
good profit from supplying specific items such banners, streamers, paper leaflets/ catalogues, billboards and metal items.
That gave me an idea.
Jan 2003, being a former employee of Chowking Marketing Dept. i talked with my mom's cousin if he could help me supply
items for CK. Technically i was a subcontractor of his Steelwork/Construction company not a daily paid steel fabricator. I designed,
personally fabricated(learned to operate my own machines) aluminum and steel, delivered the items and collected the check payments.
I just needed my Godfather's O.R. and company profile so i can penetrate a big entity such as CK corp. His company benefited through
royalties i paid every collection i made. The bulk of profit was mine of course because i was my own capitalist/designer/fabricator.
If you still see black horizontal aluminum poster holders behind CK cashiers and NO Parking signs outside the stores. It is probably mine =)
Jan 2005 i set up on a neighbor's vacant lot in Las Pinas a billiard table. Built a decent nipa bungalow to shelter it with wooden benches surrounding
the table like a cockpit arena. A gambling/betting billiards arena was born. A center for neighboring baranggay's billiards hustlers and bettors to converge and clash bets on who would win. The "tong" income collected was good, moreso when i did it almost everyday from my 10am opening til 1am. 10% ownership 'tong' rights of e.g. P50 for a P500 bet for instance for a race-of-3 game could give you P40,000 a month net of expenses.
Not bad for just setting the triangle for every set of game. (except for 9-balls, its a diamond). One would wonder how factory workers, squatters and unemployed get to produce money just for gambling =)
Jan 2006 til Dec 2006 i financed a fish-exporting business which never prospered and drained me of all money i have saved. Even left me with a P300,000 cash liability. Long story short, the industrial partner i had, never intended for the partnership to prosper. He just had to know who the clients abroad were, saved all the money he had and started his own together with our office staffs which he also initially employed to our partnership. He made these people his own employees. He just needed my finances before. And with this fish business, i knew nothing, had to stop.
Jan 2007 zero bank balance and P300K in liability, i had to do something to regain my finances. Supplying to CK metal product finished items i personally fabricate and operating my then dwindling Billiards arena just wont solve my financial predicament. Couldn't have a grand wedding i
dreamed of giving my girl since 1999 and providing my surname to our then 3-yr old son because i have lost even the P500K budget for our wedding
which i had painstakingly saved for many years, damn that fish business i entered into.
Feb 2007 1st week, emailed my cousin in Canada if theres a job opening for me. Decided to go abroad.
Feb 2007 2nd week, cousin replied there was an opening in the Elevator company he works for. I said pls get me. Passed my resume.
April 2007 i got my LMO Confirmation paper from Canada with employer's letter of offer of employment. Employer just needed my basic
knowledge of power tools and basic welding. I was employed as general steel laborer NOC 9611.
May 2007 i finally got married with 7 year girlfriend. Civil wedding.
June 2007 3rd week i completed all required docs and submitted file application as OFW.
Sept 2007 4th week got my Visa.... and 2 days after that i learned my wife was pregnant. With a heavy heart i still decided to work abroad.
Oct 2007 flew to Edmonton Alberta Canada.
Sa elevator company sa loob ng 2 taon mas marami akong natutunan. Operator ako ng heavy duty cutting saws/ presses/ and drills ng malalaking bakal. Yun ang nasa kontrata ko. Pero syempre ang employer mo would maximize lahat ng makukuha nyang pakinabang sa yo pag OFW ka. Kahit wala sa kontrata ginawa akong Elevator installer sa jobsites, wooden crate packager minsan, tsaka welder rin ng parts. Everything had training rin naman before i did it.
All around ako sa factory, depende kung sino ang Canadian employee na absent or late kasi nga maraming mga puti ang tamad, Filipinos ang choice talaga
ng employers pag work output and professionalism. Pag sobra na ang mga elevator steel parts i fabricated, ginagawa akong welder or kung saan kelangan ng back up. Canadian job setting, walang ganoong job description. Or at least para sa sahod na $13.12 per hour lang. To my benefit, aside from welding lang before ang alam ko, nadagdag ang Other Related Machineries Operator sa Resume ko because i did it for 2 years.
Oct 2009 im back here sa Pinas. Became affiliated again sa construction company ng Godfather ko as subcontractor and personally a welder fabricator ng mga steel requirements nya na di kayang gawin sa shop nya.
Sa Alberta Canada, naisip kowhile i was there na dadalhin ko ang pamilya ko also there after five years. kaya nga di ako nag apply for immigrantship while i was there. Original plan ko kasi palakihin muna ang mga bata dito sa pilipinas ng kaunti, bago ko dalhin doon. Mahirap rin kasi ang meron mga
toddlers sa Canada habang nag tra trabaho ako at ang misis ko. Thats why i didnt apply there kasi i know magiging masyado mabilis ang proseso.
ibang iba na ang pananaw ko pag babalik ko dito sa atin, original plan ko of 5 years more to stay here was changed to as soon as possible. Bahay ng byenans ko sa Bulacan ninakawan. Sumunod bahay ng mga magulang ko sa Cavite pinasok rin. Mga anak ng kakilala na business friends ng misis ko
kidnapping naman nangyari. Di natin napapanood lahat sa TV patrol lahat ng krimeng ganitong nangyayari, lalu na kidnappings kasi nag babayaran. My point is Peace and Order dito sa atin will worsen. With poverty and overpopulation to worsen, one can not be optimistic anymore.
Heto pa, sa negosyo ng wholesaling ni misis and her clan syempre kelangan mo business/mayors permit. Kelangan magkaron ka fire clearance to get that. Dito sa Caloocan bago ka bigyan ng fire clearance kelangan ang mga fire extinguishers mong ididisplay sa place of negosyo mo kelangan bilhin mo sa bumbero mismo, otherwise papahirapan ka. With April fast approaching kelangan wala kang problema regarding B.I.R naman. Eh kahit magbayad ka ng tama eh kung ano ano ang lagay na hihingin sa iyo, otherwise papahirapan ka rin at hindi ka makakapag negosyo dito sa atin. Tangina. Korupsyon.
Lahat ng lugar sa mundo, may kanya kanyang problema. Kahit sa abroad naman eh, puwedeng saksakin ng adik ang anak ko sa streets going home from school. The point is, statistically mas lesser ang crime rate sa 2 years stay ko sa Edmonton Alberta. Walang trapik talaga except syempre Christmas time
and the opportunities for work talagang mas marami. You dont need to be a doctor or scientist there to be prosperous, itanong mo pa yan sa kakilala namin doon na Janitor pinoy pero naka CRV hulugan. At ang Negro kong kaibigan Elevator painter na naka 2nd hand 2007 landcruiser limited. People i mentioned are in Canada as citizens na for more than a decade, syempre pinag ipunan rin nila yun. Dito sa pinas kahit ilang taon kang janitor o pintor , mabibili mo 21-speed bisikleta.
MOST OF ALL, sa Canada merong DIGNITY of LABOR. Dito sa atin kelangan naka kuwelyo ka behind a beautiful desk to be considered financially stable? sa experience ko doon and other pinoys also na ang nagtratrabaho ng may grasa sa mukha sa isang oil-company like Shell is more envied. Ang welders may diplomas tulad ng electricians and such trades. As with other OFWs, immigrants and naging citizens there, very minimal if not totally wala ang DISCRIMINATION. Warm and friendly funny people ang mga puting canadians. if naranasan ko discrimination there, nag demanda na ako and kumita.
Kung nasa health care ang field mo, then thats the best. Di ka pakakawalan ng gobyerno, may sure trabaho ka. While i ride the bus, i always see advertisements such as "Once a Nurse, always a Nurse" GET CERTIFIED BY THIS TESTING AUTHORITY and work here in Alberta as a nurse even if you graduated from another country. Maisip isip ko, di dapat sa bus dito sa Canada ito naka advertise, dapat nasa bus ito ng byaheng Edsa Monumento naka advertise.. hehe
sa application namin as family, ang primary applicant for FSW si misis JPMA. Financial managers category before June 26 naipasa. Kaso by July ang sabi kulang documents to prove her job and mismatched ang needed criteria nila kaya di na namin ni-resubmit kasi post june 26 na and puno na category nya. Baka hindi na rin pansinin ang resubmission. Ang advice kasi ng immigration specialist namin is that since she is Financial Manager for many years, a double-degree Holder ng DLSU (ako 1 lang) and more credentials than me, sya dapat mag apply. Eh too late na resubmit, thats why change of plans,
ako na ulit as originally planned mag file as FSW welder category since i can prove it by documents, kaso nga lang there was a period in time na gambling operator ako eh. May lapse sa welding performance ko during 2005 to 2006. But hopefully my work experiences ko naman sana maging ok naman for them.
This must be the longest post ever made. Sana i can view also other people's stories.
thank you sa mga nag tiyagang bumasa. Naglabas lang ako konting mga nagpapasikip ng loob ko =)
Dante Apolonio - pls add sa facebook. naka sideview wearing orange shirt and naka ponytail.
