The Negros Occidental delegation led by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson Lacson in a meeting with the Northern Territory government’s agribusiness sector.*
There are a lot of job opportunities available for Negrenses in the Northern Territory of Australia, Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Monday, November 14.
Diaz, who joined Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson’s delegation to the Northern Territory last week, said part of the governor’s visit was to check on Negrense scholars studying and working there.
The Negrense scholars are performing well in the Northern Territory and are highly regarded by the community, he said.
Diaz said the demand for employees in the Northern Territory is high following the COVID-19 pandemic.
A lot of establishments there have remained closed simply because they do not have enough emplpyees, which offers a big opportunity for Negrenses, he said.
Before people dreamt of going to Manila to find jobs, the next generation can dream bigger and go to Australia, the world is available to them, he said.
The Negros Occidental provincial government will make sure that its scholars in the Northern Territory are well supported, Diaz said.
The province was unable to send new scholars to the Northern Territory during the pandemic but will send 15 next year and hopefully more later, Diaz said.
He said the scholars go to school on Tuesdays and the rest of the week they can work.
Some work in restaurants, the health industry or teach, he said.
They earn about 24 Australian dollars an hour on weekdays, $42 an hour on Saturdays and $64 on Sundays and are doing well, Diaz said.
The working conditions are good and there is no racial discrimination in the Northern Territory, he said.
Those are among the reasons why the governor sees a future in the provincial government’s scholarship program for Negrenses in the Northern Territory, he said.
It is hoped that in the future there will be direct flights from Negros Occidental to Darwin in the Northern Territory and to Guam in the United States, he said.
Lacson and his delegation also met with the Northern Territory government’s agribusiness sector.
They talked about agribusiness management that can be locally applied in the province’s agricultural industry, specifically in production and marketing areas.*