BAGUIO CITY – Some three hundred forty nine jobseekers were hired on the spot by prospective employers during the Labor Day Jobs Fair last May 1, 2019 at the Baguio City National High School (BCNHS) auditorium .
Exequiel Ronnie Guzman, regional director of the Cordillera office of the Department of labor and Employment (DOLE-CAR), said that the number of jobseekers hired on the spot were part of the 2,401 registrants who joined the annual jobs fair.
On the other hand, Guzman reported that some 1,839 jobseekers were nearly hired and were asked by their employers to complete some documentary requirements or avail of additional trainings for them to be able to report to their jobs they applied for.
Of the number of registrants in the jobs fair, 1,823 filed their applications to the different local companies that participated in the jobs fair while 883 tried their luck for overseas employment offered by the participating overseas employment agencies.
The DOLE-CAR official pointed out that the hired on-the-spot workers represent 14.6 percent of the total number of registrants that participated in the annual jobs fair.
According to him, some 47 job applicants were referred to the Cordillera office of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA-CAR) for the required skills training before they can be accepted in the companies where they filed their applications for the jobs that fit their existing qualifications.
Moreover, some 160 jobseekers were also referred to the Cordillera office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for business or entrepreneurial assistance being provided by the agency while 175 job applicants availed of the government services offered during the jobs fair.
The annual Labor Day Jobs Fair is spearheaded by the DOLE family in coordination with concerned government agencies and the private sector to provide jobseekers with jobs that will fit their existing qualifications aside from providing individuals with appropriate government services in a one-stop shop that will be established in the area where the jobs fair is being conducted.
Aside from the Labor Day jobs fair, DOLE-CAR and the city government also spearhead the Kalayaan Jobs Fair every June 12 and the Baguio Charter Day Jobs Fair every September.
The conduct of the annual jobs fair is timed right after the graduation ceremonies of universities and colleges so that those graduates wanting to get employed can have the opportunity to apply for jobs.
Organizers of jobs fairs urged more companies and government agencies to actively participate in these activities so that they will be able to select their deserving workers from a pool of interested applicants who have either acquired the needed experience or not so that they will be able to contribute in providing jobseekers with jobs where they could choose where to be employed.
By Dexter A. See