"If you go into an American hospital, a Japanese elderly care centre, a British hospice or even the clinics at the centre of the recent violence in Libya and Syria, you are likely to find a nurse from the Philippines working there.
Filipinos' reliability and high level of English, coupled with the fact they are willing to accept jobs almost anywhere in the world, have proved a lifeline for many countries in need of nurses and care-workers.
It is an arrangement that has always seemed to work well for the Philippines too.
Not only is nursing a highly respected profession here, it has also been traditionally viewed as a passport out of poverty for many.
But in recent years, this dream has turned sour.
There are far fewer jobs than there once were, leaving tens of thousands unemployed.
Many rural folks had to sell their carabao - their water buffalo - and even their property just to send their child to nursing school”
At the beginning of this year, more than 200,000 registered Philippine nurses could not find work, and an estimated 80,000 are graduating this year to join an already saturated job market.
"It's so disappointing," said Tina Siuagan, who has been looking for a nursing position since she left university three years ago.
"You can't help but question: 'What's wrong with me, why can't I get a job?'" "
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18575810
