MANILA, Philippines – An association of manpower companies in the Philippines is worried that competency of Filipino workers may not be at par with that of the US standards skills needed to be able to work in Guam.

“Guam may turn to hire workers from other countries if US standards skills requirement are not met by local applicants,” the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI) said in a statement.

PASEI lamented the lack of effort of various stakeholders to upgrade the skills of Filipinos seeking employment in Guam.

The group admitted that some of its members are already experiencing difficulty in finding qualified skilled workers who meet US skills qualification standards.

According to PASEI, there is also the lack of local training programs to prepare skilled workers to meet US standards.

“While our government is eager to jump on the bandwagon to encourage Filipinos to work in Guam, the irony is -- there is hardly any government support or initiative that was established to prepare our workers to meet US skills qualification standards,” said PASEI.

Thousands of jobs, mostly for skilled workers, are up for grabs in Guam. The workers will be assigned in the construction of naval and civilian facilities for the transfer of the US military presence from Okinawa, Japan.

The transfer would entail the relocation of about 8,600 marines and 9,000 of their dependents.

Citing the Department of the Navy and the Guam Joint Program Office’s Environmental Impact Statement, PASEI said the buildup will require 3,186 construction workers for the military projects that will begin late 2010. That figure will jump to 7,672 in 2011 and to 12,358 in 2012. More than 15,800 workers will be needed for construction projects which will peak in 2014.

There are now 39 other countries that have been given the green light to send H2B workers to Guam.

Meanwhile, PASEI also reiterated its warning to all Philippine manpower service providers against the illegal collection of recruitment or placement fees on Guam-bound H2B workers.

The group said it will propose to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) the creation of a special accreditation focused on Guam that would require participating agencies to commit to a strict code of ethics of non-charging of recruitment/ placement fees on Guam-bound workers.