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WAPES Asia-Pacific Regional Conference
WAPES Asia-Pacific Regional Conference 2025
Theme: The Future of Work: Inclusive Public Employment Services Adapting to Demographic Realities in the Asia-Pacific
Program
05 November 2025
06 November 2025
Preliminaries
- Prayer/Interfaith (Doxology)
- National Anthem
- Bagong Pilipinas Hymn
- Opening Production Number
- Acknowledgement of Attendees
Welcome Remarks
- Ms. Greta Metka Barbo Skerbinc , WAPES President (Online)
Message of Support
- Ms. Luningning Y. Vergara , PESOMAP National President
- Kaori Nakamura-Osaka, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific to be represented by Mr. Khalid Hassan, Country Director for the Philippines, International Labour Organization
- Undersecretary Carmela I. Torres, Department of Labor and Employment, The Philippines
- Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma, Department of Labor and Employment
- His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines (Video Message)
- Undersecretary Carmela I. Torres, Department of Labor and Employment
Pivotal Role of Public Employment Services to boost older workers’ employability in an Aging Society
Open Forum
Moderator:
- Assistant Secretary Joel M. Gonzales, Department of Labor and Employment
Speakers:
- Ms. Neha Prakash, Director Employment Indian Administrative Service, India (Video)
- Ms. Sulinda Nur Ramadhanti, Employment Public Service Officer Ministry of Manpower, Indonesia
- Mr. Koh Yamada, Labour Policy Advisor Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan
Awarding, Presenter; Secretary Laguesma and Undersecretary Torres
Moderator:
- Ms. Minako Takasaki, Project Coordinator, WAPES
Reactors / Feedback and Action of the Philippines:
- Director Rattana Keo, Director of Planning and Cooperation Unit National Employment Agency of Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, Cambodia
- Mr. Shota Otake, Officer/Employment Policy Division, Employment Security Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan
- Ms. Sheila Merl Q. Lantaca, Senior Labor and Employment Officer Bureau of Local Employment, Philippines
Awarding, Presenter; Undersecretary Felipe N. Egargo Jr. and Assistant Secretary Amuerfina R. Reyes
Panel Session II: Technology in PES to support youth in a smooth transition from school to work
Moderator:
- Mr. Romualdo A. Garcia, National President for 2026-2028, Public Employment Service Office Managers Association of the Philippines (PESOMAP) Inc., The Philippines
Speakers:
- Mr. Arsenio M. Sabado, Global Chief Human Resources Officer, Jollibee Foods Corporation
The Philippines - Ms. Farah Wahidah Anuar, Head of Capacity Building, Employment Services (ES), Employment Insurance System, PERKESO, Malaysia
- Mr. Kimleng Pech, Deputy Director General, National Employment Agency, Cambodia
Awarding, Presenter; Undersecretary Carmella I. Torres and Assistant Secretary Joel M. Gonzales
- Welcome Remarks, Governor Lilia Pineda, Province of Pampanga
- Message and Ceremonial Toast, Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma, From and on behalf of the Department of Labor and Employment, The Philippines
- Group Photo
- Dinner with Cultural Presentation
- Closing Remarks, Ms. Minako Takasaki, WAPES Project Coordinator
- Networking / Socials
07 November 2025
The influences on overseas workers’ policies to secure the labour force in a shrinking working-age population and skill shortages due to demographic changes
Open Forum
- Assistant Secretary Levinson C. Alcantara, Policy and International Cooperation, Department of Migrant Workers, The Philippines
Speakers:
- Mr. Ricardo Casco, Independent Migration Consultant, Vice Chair for Outreach Services, Association of Former International Civil, Servants (AFICS), Philippines
- Ms. Azusa Ohba , Section Chief, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan
- Ms. Tristan Burnett, Country Director, IOM UN Migration the Philippines,Philippines
The effective utilization of the digital platform at PESO to address the demographic challenges
Open Forum
Moderator:
- OIC-Assistant Secretary Adeline T. De Castro, Department of Labor and Employment, The Philippines
Speakers:
- Mr. Wolfgang Merkt, Chief Technology Officer,Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) and concurrent Chief Technology and Operating Officer, Aboitiz Data Innovation (ADI)
- Mr. Jan Jensen, Chief Executive Officer, WCC Group, Netherlands
- Dr. Hyoungrae Kim, Research Fellow, Korea Employment Information Service, Republic of Korea
- Director Patrick P. Patriwirawan, Jr., CESO III, Department of Labor and Employment, Philippines
- 1:20 p.m – 1:50 p.m Assembly for the Study Visit: PESO-Enterprise Convergence Pampanga
- 2:00 p.m – 2:45 p.m Travel Time to PESO Enterprise Pampanga
- Foton Motors Philippines: Prince Balagtas Ave, Clark Freeport, Angeles, Pampanga
- Luenthai International: Claro M Recto Hwy, Clark Freeport, Angeles, Pampanga
- Superl Philippines: Angeles Industrial Park, Bacolor, Pampanga
- 2:45 p.m – 2:50 p.m Welcome of Delegates & Photo Opportunity, Enterprise Manager /HR Director
- 2:50 p.m – 3:30 p.m Presentation of the Convergence Program
- 3:30 p.m – 4:00 p.m Question and Answer
- 4:00 p.m – 4:30 p.m Tour of the Enterprise
- 4:30 p.m – 4:40 p.m Closing Remarks, DOLE/PESO Representatives
- 4:40 p.m. – 5:30 p.m Travel Time from Enterprise Pampanga to Hotel
- 5:30 p.m – 6:00 p.m Reporting and Sharing of Study Visit Experiences & Regional Director Joffrey M. Suyao, Department of Labor and Employment , Closing Remarks WAPES Executive Secretary, Amandine Moignard
- 6:00 p.m – 7:00 p.m Dinner
- WAPES Executive Secretary, Amandine Moignard
Location: Clark City, Pampanga, Philippines
Language: English
Target Audience: WAPES Asia-Pacific members and ASEAN countries
This year’s conference will address the timely theme “The Future of Work: Inclusive Public Employment Services Adapting to Demographic Realities in the Asia-Pacific.” In the face of rapid demographic change—including aging populations, youth unemployment, migration, and accelerating digital transformation—Public Employment Services (PES) are playing a pivotal role in shaping inclusive and adaptive labor markets.
Through a series of panel discussions and featured sessions, the event will explore:
- Strategies to enhance older workers’ employability in aging societies.
- Leveraging technology in PES to support youth transitions from school to work.
- The role of overseas worker policies in addressing labor shortages and demographic shifts.
- Digital transformation in PES offices (PESO) as a tool to improve service delivery.
This gathering will provide an invaluable platform for sharing good practices, exchanging innovative solutions, and fostering collaboration across the region. It will also serve as a strong networking opportunity to build partnerships and strengthen the role of PES in addressing today’s demographic and labor market challenges.
On behalf of the organizers, we look forward to welcoming you to Clark City for what promises to be a fruitful and engaging conference.
Speaker
Ms. Neha Prakash
Director Employment, Indian Administrative Service, India/h4>
Neha Prakash is a distinguished Indian Administrative Service officer of 2012 batch currently serving as Director Employment in the most populous state of India, Uttar Pradesh having a population of 250 million. The Directorate has facilitated employment for 379000 people in the last year through 3000 Job Fairs across 75 employment exchanges. Recently, she organised a Rozgaar Mahakumbh providing employment opportunities to 16000 people over 3 days. She has served as the District Magistrate of Shravasti and Auraiya districts. Her academic foundation includes a Bachelor of Computer Science Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra and Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow. She worked in Tata Consultancy Services as Assistant Systems Engineer and in Deloitte US India as a Strategy Consultant. She also serves as an honorary advisor to BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry, India. She recently completed a training at ITC ILO.
Mr. Koh YAMADA
Labour Policy Advisor, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Indonesia, Japan
Mr. Yamada started his career at the Ministry of Labour (currently Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) of the Government of Japan in 1994.
He has taken charge of various missions on labor issues such as working hours, employment of the elderly and persons with disabilities, part-time work, and women at work, including standard setting and economic analysis. He also served as director of the Prefectural Labour bureaus in Hokkaido and Kyoto, providing support to frontline labour organisations such as Hello Works (PES in Japan) and Labour Standards Inspection Offices.
Mr. Yamada has also worked in the international arena, including at the Permanent Delegation of Japan to the OECD in France (2005–2008) and the JICA TVET Project in Cambodia (2018–2021). He has been on his current mission in Indonesia since January 2023.
Ms. Sulinda Nur Ramadhanti
Employment Public Service Officer, Ministry of Manpower, Indonesia
Ms. Sulinda Nur Ramadhanti is an Employment Public Service Officer at the Directorate of Special Labor Placement Development, a directorate that handles vulnerable groups, including elderly people.
Ms. Farah Wahidah Anuar
Head of Capacity Building, Employment Services (ES), Employment Insurance System, PERKESO, Malaysia
Farah Wahidah Anuar has served as a Case Manager at PERKESO (Social Security Organisation Malaysia) and as the Head of the Capacity Building Unit under the Employment Services Division in EIS PERKESO, where she focused on improving job-matching services and supporting workforce readiness through digital platforms such as MyFutureJobs. Her career reflects a strong commitment to helping individuals navigate the job market and enhance their employability.
Mr. Kimleng Pech
Deputy Director General, National Employment Agency, Cambodia
Mr. Pech Kimleng is the Deputy Director General of the National Employment Agency (NEA), Cambodia’s Public Employment Service. He is passionate about using digital technology to improve employment services and create better opportunities for young people. In his role, he leads the design of modern career counseling tools to help youth successfully move from school to work.
Ms. Azusa Ohba
Section Chief, Foreign Workers Affairs Division, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Japan
Ms. Azusa OHBA is a Section Chief of the Foreign Workers’ Affairs Division, Employment Security Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Japan. Since joining the MHLW, she has been involved in policy planning for Public Employment Services and Human Resources Development, including public vocational training, for over five years. Currently, she serves as a section chief in a project aimed at enhancing employers’ employment management for foreign workers, amid the increasing number of foreign workers in Japan.
Mr. Jan Jensen
Chief Executive Officer, WCC Group, Netherlands
Mr. Jensen is an accomplished executive with 25+ years of international experience in business development, market expansion, and strategic sales leadership across IT, telecommunications, networking, consumer electronics, and media. He has held senior roles at leading companies including Syncplicity, Nuance, EMC, ViewSonic, Gateway, and Siemens, consistently driving revenue growth and profitability. Since 2018, he has been CEO of WCC Group, a global leader in employment technology, where he sharpened the company’s focus on innovative digital solutions for Public Employment Services (PES) and workforce agencies worldwide. Passionate about building inclusive, future-ready workforces, he engages with governments and institutions to shape digital strategies for skills-based matching, upskilling, and labor market resilience. Mr. Jensen holds an MSc in Business Economics from the Aarhus School of Business Administration, Denmark.
Dr. Hyoungrae Kim
Research Fellow, Korea Employment Information Service, Republic of Korea
Hyoungrae Kim earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science. He is currently an Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Employment Information Service (KEIS). His research focuses on enhancing employment services through artificial intelligence, with specific interests in AI-powered job matching, algorithm evaluation, and applied machine learning. He is a member of the Korea Society of Computer and Information.
Ms. Minako TAKASAKI
Project coordinator, WAPES
Ms. Minako Takasaki is a Project Coordinator for WAPES, seconded by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Japan, starting in October 2024. She has been leading the WAPES-Japan Joint Project, which focuses on self-assessment and peer learning in the Philippines and Cambodia. She has over 20 years of professional experience at the MHLW since beginning her career as a job counselor at the PESO (Hello Work). Before her current role, she was the first-ever female Head of the Employment Service Department at the Okinawa Regional Labour Bureau. She also served as First Secretary at the Japanese Embassy in Korea. She holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Public Studies.