Dili, June 26, 2025 (Lusa) - The Timor-Leste Secretariat of State for Vocational Training and Employment on Thursday organised a seminar to help workers participating in seasonal labour mobility programmes manage the money they earn abroad and make priority investments.
“This seminar aims to orientate our young people, to help them make the most of their abilities, and to use their financial resources in a way that is beneficial,” said Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment Rogério Mendonça.
The most recent number of Timorese seasonal workers returning from Australia, as recorded by the State Secretariat, is 1,891.
“This seminar will be a great help to those returning. It serves to help our young people contribute to the resolution of one of the main problems in our country, which is the internal unemployment rate and the delay in the economic development of families,” said the minister.
According to Rogério Mendonça, many workers end up spending much of the money they earn on funerals, celebrations and other less pressing needs.
“Sometimes they make business plans, but culture prevails and the money ends up being spent on other things. So even the best and most well-thought-out plans end up failing,” lamented Rogério Mendonça.
But 39 year-old Timorese Miltiades Maia, who spent six months working in Australia in 2019, is the opposite example. When he returned to Timor-Leste, the native of the Ermera district opened a café with his wife in his hometown and has already created jobs for more people.
“We have four people employed permanently at the cafeteria, and another ten in the catering department, to cook for events and other occasions,” Miltiades Maia told Lusa.
In 2024, according to data released by the director-general of that state secretariat, Carlitos Cabral, Timorese working in South Korea and Australia under labour mobility programmes transferred around US$44 million (around €37.6 million) to the country.
With a population of over 1.3 million people - one of the youngest in the world - the unemployment rate in Timor-Leste seriously affects citizens of working age.
Without opportunities for professional growth and improved living conditions, many choose to emigrate permanently or participate in seasonal work programmes.
The Timorese state has not yet been able to respond effectively to job creation, especially through private sector growth, but has established agreements with Australia, Japan, South Korea and, more recently, New Zealand for the deployment of seasonal workers.
The national reintegration seminar has already been held in the districts of Lautém, Viqueque, Baucau and Manatuto.
DPYF/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
