How to Apply OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program

As the premiere agency in-charge of protecting the welfare and well-being of Overseas Filipino Workers, the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) offers numerous educational and financial support and opportunities designed to keep up with its mandate to serve its would-be OFWs, its member OFWs, and their families and eligible beneficiaries. One such program is known as the OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program.

Also Read: List of OWWA Scholarship Programs

The OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program is OWWA’s initiative to prepare and protect would-be OFWs as well as returning ones who are ready for deployment. The program in itself has a simple goal: To prepare them for deployment by informing them of the fundamental theories, as well as provide training regarding the skills, culture, customs, traditions, and language they need to know before leaving the Philippines so they may ease into the new work environment easily.

how to apply OWWA Pre Departure Education Program

What is OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program

Before leaving the Philippines, there are a variety of government-to-citizen (G2C) educational training and skill-upgrade programs that the government, via the OWWA, offers to OFWs. This program is what we now know as the OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program—an initiative meant to provide relevant pre-departure orientations and seminars to help OFWs cope with the new culture and work environment in their destination country. 

The program originally offered the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in 1983. But, in 2009, it was expanded into the Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program (CPDEP) which offers Country-Specific Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) and Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for Household Service Workers (CPDEP for HSWs)—a live-out pre-departure orientation seminar exclusively designed to help Household Service Workers (HSWs) and domestic workers (DWs) adapt in the new work environment.

As part of the OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program, departing OFWs must take either one of the following orientation seminars before they can leave the Philippines:

Country-Specific Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS)

The Country-Specific Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar, otherwise known as PDOS, is a free mandatory orientation-seminar hosted by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). It is aimed to orient departing migrant Filipino workers so they would know about the basic information that are most beneficial to them while integrating in the host country. The seminar will also help OFWs easily adopt the new culture, norms, environment, language and practices of the new work environment. The orientation touches on both skill-specific and country-specific topics like:

  • work standards
  • general profile of the country of destination
  • stages of the OFW’s life abroad
  • health & safety
  • travel tips
  • airport procedure
  • government programs & services

These topics are laid out in seven (7) different training modules, namely:

  • Preparing for departure
  • Entering the host country
  • Getting settled
  • Building a support network
  • Finding a job
  • Managing your finances
  • Maintaining and strengthening ties with the Philippines

Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for Household Service Workers (CPDEP for HSWs)

The Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for Household Service Workers (CPDEP for HSWs) is the second mandatory component of OWWA’s knowledge and education policy under the OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program. It is a two- to six-day live-out orientation-seminar meant to help departing Household Service Workers (HSWs) as well as domestic workers (DWs) address the difficulties of working in a foreign country in relation to language barrier, as well as the stress, culture, customs, and traditions of their host countries.

As an important component of the government’s knowledge and education policy and OFW safety and welfare program, the CPDEP for HSWs offer trainings on:

  • Cultural Acquaintance/ Culture Familiarization Course

This training module is meant to acquaint would-be HSWs with potential cultural barriers that they may encounter while working in the new host country. Such barriers include:

  • Culture shock
  • Adjustment in dealing with the locals and their culture and traditions 
  • Familiarization of the basic conversational language used in the household
  • Basic Language Training/ Language Familiarization Course

OWWA launched their Language and Culture Familiarization Course in January 2007 and improved it in March 2009. Now, the OWWA language offerings has expanded into the following languages:

  • Arabic – Three (3) days training
  • Cantonese – Three (3) days training
  • Hebrew – Three (3) days training
  • Italian – Three (3) days training
  • Mandarin – Six (6) days training
  • Stress Management

This is a half-day program that educates and prepares participants both physically and mentally for the demands of their new job in a foreign country. This includes learning about the cause and effect of stress along with some validated coping techniques and new coping mechanisms.

Benefits

The OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program offers country-specific and even skill-specific orientation-seminar to provide OFWs with as much relevant and reliable information as possible. Some of the benefits that come with this program include:

  • Increased responsiveness to the vulnerable OFWs’ health and security needs.
  • It helps OFWs adapt to their new work and workplace.
  • It addresses the basic needs of OFWs for orientation.
  • It helps HSWs adjust to their new jobs and stay sane at work for the crazy first six months.
  • For CPDEP: The program offers information focused on the fundamental needs of HSWs for orientation rather than information-heavy specifics.
  • The orientation seminars are either country- or skill-specific, so HSWs will have all the things they need to know to quickly transition into their new workplace.
  • HSWs are better equipped to deal with the challenges in the work environment and atmosphere in unfamiliar international households.

OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program Qualifications  

So, now you know what’s in it for you if you join in on the OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program. Here’s what it takes for you to get in on the program. 

You must:

  • Be an adult aged 20 to 59
  • Be a child aged 13 to 19 years old
  • For Filipinos emigrating from the Philippines: Must have been issued an immigrant visa.

Note: No Minors under the age of 13 and adults over the age of 59 are eligible to take CPDEP

Requirements

Like any other OWWA program, the OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program comes with certain documentary requirements which includes the following:

Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS)

If you are a Filipino migrant worker departing for another country, you need to prepare the following documentary requirements:

  • Duly completed registration form
  • Original and photocopy of Passport, with at least six months of validity before travel date
  • Original and photocopy of Working Visa from the DFA and Concerned Embassy
  • Endorsement Letter from the Philippine Recruitment Agency
  • Employment Contract verified by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in the country of work, issued by POLO or Department of Migrant Workers (DMW, formerly known as POEA) 
  • Employment Contract
  • $25 (payment for OWWA membership fee)

Country-Specific requirements:

The following documentary requirements are needed for PDOS. However, these documents may vary as these are specific to the country where the OFW will be working:

  • For workers going to Japan: Certificate of Eligibility (COE) at Addendum to the Master 
  • For workers going to Canada: Labor Marketing Impact Assessment (LMIA)

Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program (CPDEP)

The Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for Household Service Workers (CPDEP for HSWs) also comes with a separate set of documentary requirements that household workers or domestic workers need to prepare. These are: 

  • Duly completed registration form
  • Original and photocopy of Valid Passport issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) (must be valid for about six months before the date of travel)
  • Any one (1) of the following valid photo ID:
    • Alien Certificate of Registration (ARC I-Card)
    • Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ID
    • Barangay Clearance / Certificate
    • Certification from the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP)
    • Company / Office ID, Student’s ID or School ID
    • Consular ID
    • Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) ID
    • Driver’s license
    • Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) E-card
    • Home Development Mutual Fund (HMDF) or PAG-IBIG ID
    • Marriage Certificate (NSO Authenticated)
    • National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance
    • National Statistics Office (NSO) / Birth Certificate
    • Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) ID
    • Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) ID
    • Permit to Carry Firearms
    • PhilHealth Identification Card (PIC)
    • Philippine National Police (PNP) ID
    • Philippines Overseas Employment Association (POEA) ID
    • Police Clearance
    • Postal ID
    • Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID
    • PRA Special Resident Retiree Visa (SRRV) ID
    • Seaman’s Book
    • Senior Citizen’s ID Card
    • Social Security System (SSS) ID
    • Tax Identification Number (TIN) ID
    • Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID)
    • Voter’s ID
  • Original and photocopy of Working Visa from the DFA or Concerned Embassy
  • Original Employment Contract verified by Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in the host country where they will be working issued by POLO or the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW, formerly known as POEA) 
  • Certificate of Attendance ng Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) issued by OWWA or any Accredited PDOS Provider
  • Endorsement letter from the recruitment agency or the OWWA RWO where PDOS certification was obtained, which may vary depending on whether the HSW is:
    • Agency Hire
    • Name-Hire
  • $25 (payment for OWWA membership fee)
  • CPDEP attendance

Documentary requirements specific to a country: 

The following documentary requirements are needed for CPDEP. However, these documents may vary as these are specific to the country where the HSWs will be working:

  • For US-bound emigrants: Summary of immigrant data (except for K visa holders)
  • For workers going to Italy: Nulla Osta
  • For emigrants going to Canada: Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) (must not be torn or signed before departure)
  • For workers heading to Australia: A letter of approval for a Work to Residence visa – Visa Grant Notification Letter
  • For emigrants going to New Zealand: A letter of approval for a Work to Residence visa is required.
  • For Japanese emigrants: Certificate of Eligibility (COE)

Note: All of these country-specific documents must be presented in original form. There’s no need to provide a photocopy of any of these documents.

Step-by-Step Procedure in Applying for the OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program

Though both the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) and the Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for Household Service Workers (CPDEP for HSWs) are programs under the OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program, the application procedures to register for each one varies. Having said that, we listed the complete procedures for applying for each one, in case you need to know.

Here’s how:

Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) Procedures

If you are a Filipino migrant worker departing for another country, you need to follow these procedures to complete your PDOS:

  1. Secure an appointment to the nearest OWWA Regional Welfare Office (RWO): 
    • Use the appointment scheduler available on the OWWA website (appointment.owwa.gov.ph).
    • Use the appointment scheduler on the OWWA Mobile App.
  2. On the selected date of the appointment, visit the selected OWWA RWO that is closest to the OFW-member’s permanent address.
  3. Get the Enrollment Form from the PDOS staff at the OWWA RWO’s PDOS Registration Desk (5 minutes)
  4. Fill-up and submit the Enrollments Form and get the Enrollment Card from the PDOS Staff at the Registration Desk for the schedule of training. (10 minutes) 
  5. Attend the training schedule conducted by either the PDOS or the CPDEP Resource Speaker (1-2 days) for:
    • PDOS- Skilled Workers
    • CPDEP- Professional Housekeepers 
  6. Obtain the PDOS Certificate of Attendance at the end of the seminar (15-30 minutes).  

Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program (CPDEP) Procedures

The Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for Household Service Workers (CPDEP for HSWs) also comes with a separate set of procedures that household workers or domestic workers need to follow to get in on the program and avail the service: 

  1. Secure an appointment to the nearest OWWA Regional Welfare Office (RWO): 
    • Use the appointment scheduler available on the OWWA website (appointment.owwa.gov.ph).
    • Use the appointment scheduler on the OWWA Mobile App.
  2. On the selected date of the appointment, visit the selected OWWA RWO that is closest to the OFW-member’s permanent address.
  3. Fill-up and submit the Enrollments Form along with the complete documentary requirements to the CPDEP Staff at the OWWA RWO’s Registration Desk for the schedule of training. (5 minutes) 
  4. Obtain the Enrollment Card from the CPDEP staff at the OWWA RWO Registration Desk to get the training schedule and venue (10 minutes). 
  5. Attend the training schedule conducted by the CPDEP Resource Speaker for the Language Training and Culture Familiarization in the given training venue and schedule stated in the Enrolment Card. 
  6. Obtain the Certificate of Attendance at the end of the seminar/training (15-30 minutes).

Online Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program (CPDEP)

There’s also an option for Online Registration for the Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for Household Service Workers (CPDEP for HSWs). You will need to use a designated email address for the enrollment of trainees, and appointment via phone calls for the release of 

Certificate of Attendance (COAs).

To do so, just follow these instructions:

  • Refer to the public notice.
  • Visit www.cfo.gov.ph.
  • Fill out all preliminary questions to determine whether you need to attend the PDOS or the CPDEP orientation seminar. 

Below are some of the preliminary questions included in the page:

  • How do you know your petitioner/sponsor?
  • What is the name of your destination country?
  • What is the type/category/classification of your visa?
  • Once done, key in your email address and click the submit button.
  • Look for a confirmation letter in your inbox (including the SPAM folder). 
  • Click “Confirm Email” and fill out the “personal information” tab with your information.
  • The personal information tab will then ask you to provide the following information:
    • Last Name
    • First Name
    • Middle Name
    • Suffix
    • Birthdate
    • Sex
    • Civil Status
  • Complete your online registration by clicking “proceed to registration”
  • Upload clear and most recent picture.
  • You can download or print your barcoded confirmation. If printed, you need to bring this along with your other requirements to CFO on your schedule date.

Important Reminders

Here are some important reminders about the OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs):

  • You will receive a Certificate of Completion once you have completed CPDEP or PDOS.
  • The Certificate of Completion along with all the other documentary requirements must be submitted to the DMW for processing.
  • The Certificate of Completion must be shown at the airport when leaving
  • To avoid delays or difficulties at the airport, make sure all of your documents are complete and well-organized.
  • Only CPDEP applications that meet all of the registration criteria will be approved by the CFO.
  • CPDEP registrations can be done online.

Video: OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program Experience

In this video, you can see as Karen Marie Gorospe shares a detailed YouTube video of one of their online seminars to share what OFWs can expect when they join the program.

Watch the full video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3u7qtS8PXM

This video from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) tells us more about what the  Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) is all about as well as the complete registration process for those who are interested to attend the PDOS.

Frequently Asked Questions

Check out these common questions and answers regarding the OWWA Pre-departure Education Program below:

1. Is OWWA PDOS and OWWA CPDEP the same?

Both are housed under the same OWWA Pre-departure Education Program and both serve the same purpose, but the CPDEP is made exclusively for Household Service Workers (HSWs) whereas the PDOS is for everyone else who are leaving the country as OFWs.

2. Where will this OWWA program take place, in the Philippines or in my host country?

As insinuated by the program name, “Pre-Departure,” the educational orientations and seminars under the program are conducted in the Philippines, before the migrant worker leaves the country.

3. How many days will the program last?

It varies. The orientations and seminars are usually on a two- to six-day timeframe though sometimes, it takes about 3 to 6 days.

4. How much does PFOS and CPDEP program cost?

CFO PDOS registration fee, if you are attending the one held at the OWWA Headquarters costs Php 400.00 and is paid at Counter 7. The online version, Online PDOS, however, is free of charge. Just like the Online PDOS, CPDEP is completely free, but if ever there’s any fee to be collected, it will be paid for by the recruitment agency.

5. Can I get my PDOS or CPDEP schedule online?

Yes, you can. For CPDEP, you may register and book your schedule online. For PDOS, you may even attend the full orientation online and for free.

6. Is it required to register at CPDEP?

Yes, just like how PDOS is required from all other migrant worker types, registration at CPDEP is required for HSWs. It is one of the requirements for leaving the country and you will need to present it at the airport prior to departure.

7. What language courses does OWWA currently offer?

At this time, OWWA offers their students substantial linguistic (alphabet) and basic household vocabulary instruction. The language trainings also cover history, faith, and judicial system in Arabic, Cantonese, Hebrew, Italian, and Mandarin. They will also learn about the prohibitions that were established so they are more aware and prepared upon reaching the host country. The OFW learners will also receive a pronunciation guide, as well as guides on greetings and apologies, numerals and currencies, calendar, time, customs, and values as part of the training course.

Summary

Adapting to a new culture, especially in an unfamiliar environment, for an extended period entails going through the “culture shock” associated with what we know as an adjustment period. It is for this adjustment period, within six to twelve months, that many OFWs find it difficult to live and adjust in a new environment. But with the help of OWWA’s Pre-Departure Education Program, OFWs learn to reduce or manage the effects of culture shock in their lives.

Through proper orientation and seminars before departing for their host country, the OFWs can adapt better, communicate more freely, and manage their stress levels better even as they experience challenges when they reach this point in the host country. Eventually, they will adapt and live a more unique experience. 

The OWWA Pre-Departure Education Program also provides skill-focused training before the migrant workers are authorized to leave the Philippines for work abroad. These involve skills that should be learned by household workers and other migrant workers alike, allowing them to supplement their knowledge better and live well despite the cultural barriers. These training programs are also offered in several languages, covering a variety of topics that will help migrant Filipino workers prepare for and face all challenges that working in another country entails.