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Industries in the Philippines, one of the largest sources

of migrant workers in the region and in the world, has been
suffering from brain and brawn drain since the program of
“manpower export” was launched by the Department of Labor

in the mid-1970s (initially in response to the demand for workers
by the petro-dollar states in the Middle East). Somehow,

complaining Philippine industries have survived the drain.
However, an argument can be raised that the brain drain
contributed to the failure of Philippine industry to move up

the ladder in the succeeding decades.

Also lately, a bigger problem has cropped up – the

loss by industry of “mission-critical personnel”. These are
the most talented workers occupying sensitive or strategic
positions whose absence can paralyze the operations of the

entire business or factory, for example, manufacturing will grind
to a halt if there are no production engineers. Some of the most

affected industries by the migration of mission-critical personnel
are aviation, mining, steel, telecoms and manufacturing.

At the Asia-Pacific level, the Hays recruiting firm reported

13
in their 2015 Hays Asia Salary Guide that Asian companies

13 Hays Talent Solutions, 2015. Asia’s Talent Gap (2015 Hays Asia Salary Guide),
Singapore: Hays Talent Solutions.

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