2nd Online Orientation on ETEEAP and LEAP-OFWs: What OFWs in Saudi Arabia and the UAE Should Know

If you’re an OFW in Saudi Arabia or the UAE and you’ve been hearing bits and pieces about a new scholarship for overseas workers, this is the session to attend. A second online orientation on the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) and the Lifelong Learning Education Assistance Program for Overseas Filipino Workers (LEAP-OFWs) is set for August 14, 2026, and it’s built specifically for Kabayans working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The first run of this orientation clearly struck a chord, since organizers are already back with a second batch. That’s a good sign for anyone who missed round one or who simply wants a clearer, more direct explanation of how ETEEAP and LEAP-OFWs actually work before committing time to an application.

Jump to a Section

• What the Orientation Covers
• Who Should Attend
• Event Details
• How to Register
• Why This Matters if You’re Working Abroad
• How to Prepare Before the Session

What the Orientation Covers

The session is organized around three main topics, and each one answers a question that a lot of OFWs have been quietly asking for years.

First is ETEEAP itself, the program that lets working Filipinos convert years of job experience into a CHED-recognized college degree, no classroom residency required in the traditional sense. Second is the ETEEAP Online Enlistment System, the digital gateway that lets an applicant register and get pre-assessed without needing to fly home first. Third is LEAP-OFWs, the newer initiative between CHED and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) that offers financial assistance to OFWs who qualify for ETEEAP but need help covering the cost.

Put together, these three pieces form a fairly complete picture: how to get in, how to prove you belong, and how to pay for it. That’s a lot of ground to cover in one sitting, which is exactly why a live orientation, rather than just reading a webpage, tends to help.

Who Should Attend

This particular run is targeted at OFWs currently based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Both countries host large, long-established Filipino communities, many of whom have spent a decade or more building careers in construction, healthcare, hospitality, engineering, and skilled trades without ever finishing a college degree back home.

If that description sounds familiar, this session was built with you in mind. You don’t need to have already started an ETEEAP application to join. In fact, attending before you apply is the smarter move, since it gives you a chance to ask questions live rather than guessing your way through forms later.

Event Details

Here’s what you need to know to actually show up.

Date: August 14, 2026 Time: 2:00 PM, Philippine Time (adjust accordingly for KSA and UAE time zones) Platform: Zoom Teleconferencing Access: Zoom credentials will be emailed to participants who complete registration

Because this runs on Philippine Time, participants dialing in from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai, or Abu Dhabi will want to double check the conversion ahead of time so they don’t log in late or, worse, miss the link entirely.

How to Register

Registration is required, and it’s the only way to receive the Zoom credentials. You can register through this link: bit.ly/4aDycM9, or by scanning the QR code shared through official ETEEAP and OWWA channels.

A quick tip: register early. Sessions like this tend to fill up once word spreads through Filipino community groups abroad, and organizers typically send out Zoom credentials closer to the event date, so an early sign-up gives you a buffer in case anything gets missed in your inbox.

Why This Matters if You’re Working Abroad

There’s a reason CHED and OWWA keep running these orientations specifically for OFWs, and it isn’t just goodwill. It’s a response to a very real, very common problem. Thousands of Filipinos abroad have built genuine expertise in their fields, sometimes managing teams, sometimes carrying licenses or certifications earned on the job, yet they return home to find that without a diploma, promotions, salary adjustments, and even certain licensure exams remain out of reach.

ETEEAP exists to close that gap by crediting real work experience toward an actual degree. LEAP-OFWs, launched through a formal agreement between OWWA and CHED, goes a step further by offering OFWs a path to financial assistance for that same journey, something that historically was only available to an OFW’s dependents rather than the OFW directly.

To even get to the LEAP-OFWs financial assistance stage, though, you first need to meet the basic ETEEAP qualifications under Republic Act No. 12124. You need to be a Filipino citizen, at least 23 years old at the time of application, a completer of secondary education (or its PEPT or ALS equivalent), and you need at least five aggregate years of work experience in a field related to the degree you’re pursuing. You can check exactly where you stand using the ETEEAP eligibility checker.

How to Prepare Before the Session

You don’t need a completed application to attend, but coming in with a bit of groundwork will help you get more out of the hour. Take a look at the list of ETEEAP degree programs and start thinking about which one actually lines up with your years on the job. Browse the directory of deputized schools, since not every college or university is authorized to offer ETEEAP, and many of the ones that are have already built remote-friendly processes for OFWs specifically.

It also helps to start a mental, or literal, checklist of documents: your birth certificate, high school diploma or its equivalent, certificates of employment, a comprehensive resume, and any training certificates or National Certificates from TESDA you might already hold. None of these need to be finalized before August 14, but having them in mind will make the orientation’s Q&A portion far more useful to you personally.

For a fuller walkthrough built specifically around overseas applicants, the ETEEAP.PH guide for OFWs breaks down the process step by step, and the Get Started page lays out what to expect once you’re ready to move from orientation to actual application.

Years working abroad, away from family, deserve to count for something more than a line on a resume. This orientation is a small but concrete step toward turning that experience into a real, CHED-recognized degree. Register through bit.ly/4aDycM9, block out August 14 at 2:00 PM Philippine Time, and bring your questions. Then check your own qualifications anytime at ETEEAP.PH and start building the paper trail your experience has already earned.