July 17th, 2016: Dr. Rommel Sergio, Associate Professor and Chair of Human Resource Management at Canadian University Dubai (CUD), has concluded a landmark capacity building program for front-line employees who provide counseling and support to afflicted Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the UAE.
As a counseling in psychology doctorate degree holder, Dr. Sergio led the pro bono training initiative, which saw 35 officials from the Philippine Consulate General and the Philippine Overseas Labour Office in Dubai undertake a four-month program to enhance the psycho-social support system available to afflicted Filipino residents.
The initiative came about as a result of the shared values of the Philippine Consulate General leadership, under Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, and community-minded citizens, including Dr. Sergio, and United International Private School-Human Resources/Community Relations Manager, Jennifer Gonzales.
With more than 455,000 Filipinos in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, the Philippine Consulate General Dubai has become the largest Philippine diplomatic mission in the world in terms of clientele. The first-of-its-kind training initiative was praised by the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns, Rafael Seguis, who said it was an essential initiative in instilling the value of empathy among DFA personnel.
Facilitated by Dr. Sergio, the final session of self-awareness exercises and teambuilding workshops took place recently on campus at CUD. The program concluded with the presentation of certificates of recognition to participant at a ceremony hosted in the University’s Red Theatre.
Dr. Sergio was recently named among the world’s top 50 business educators at Cambridge University in UK said that, “This Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as supported by CUD, heralds an important set of strategic, formal counseling programs for OFWs in Dubai. This humble intention pulls up possibilities of promoting the well-being of workers to better cope with their jobs and may help them resolve certain issues to be more productive at work.”
Alongside the closing proceedings, Consul General Cortes expressed his gratitude to CUD President Dr. Karim Chelli, and Dr. Sergio for their support in this CSR activity and pledged to sustain the partnership that brought about this pioneering initiative.
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