Overseas Filipino workers who spent years on the job without completing a college degree may now have a pathway to formal credentials, following a new partnership between two government agencies.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration announced Tuesday it will provide scholarships to eligible OFWs under the Lifelong Learning Education Assistance Program for OFWs, or LEAP-OFWs, in coordination with the Commission on Higher Education.
Under the arrangement, qualifying workers can earn a college degree through CHED’s Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program, known as ETEEAP, which was signed into law in March 2025 to allow working professionals to convert on-the-job experience into academic credit toward a degree.
OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan pointed to OFWs in Saudi Arabia’s engineering sector as an example of those the program is designed to serve — skilled workers with years of practical experience but no formal degree to show for it.
“Simulan ko na lang sa mga kuwento ng mga kababayan natin sa Saudi Arabia na nagtatrabaho sa mga engineering firms, ngunit hindi sila nakatapos ng engineering course. Pero umabot na rin ng dekada ang kanilang experience,” Caunan said in an appearance on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.
Through ETEEAP, accumulated work experience can count toward completing a degree in as little as six months to two years, Caunan said, potentially opening the door to licensure examinations for those in regulated fields.
“Dahil sa ETEEAP program, magkakaroon sila ng pagkakataon na magkaroon ng college degree in engineering, leading ito sa pagkuha nila ng licensure exam,” she said.
OWWA’s role in the partnership is the provision of financial assistance to OFWs who wish to pursue this route. “Ang suporta ng OWWA dito ay ang pagbibigay ng educational assistance or scholarship sa mga OFWs na nais tapusin ang kanilang pag-aaral,” Caunan added.
The agency said a completed degree is expected to strengthen OFWs’ standing both abroad and upon eventual return to the Philippines. “Kapag natapos nila ito, it will open up more opportunities for them—promotion sa kanilang current na trabaho at oportunidad na bumalik sa Pilipinas at maghanap ng mas magandang trabaho,” Caunan said.
