DOLE: More job fairs set for CV before yearend

CEBU, Philippines - Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz recently urged employers to continue playing their cooperative stance in providing more productive opportunities to jobseekers as she announced there are still more than a hundred job fairs scheduled from November to December this year.

In making the announcement, Baldoz reiterated her observation that job fairs are more viable and more economical venues both to search for workers and to search for jobs.

"The year 2013 is almost over, but we in the DOLE are keen to really open up more opportunities to job seekers, hence our job fairs will continue to be conducted until the close of the year," she said.

According to DOLE’s website, the job fairs slated in Cebu for the remaining months of the year include: November 9—Abellana National School, Cebu City Sports Center hosted by Public Employment Service Office (PESO)-Cebu City and Department of Manpower Development and Placement (DMDP).

On the same day, a similar job fair will be held at Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex hosted by PESO-Mandaue City.

On November 10, a job fair will be held at Asturias Sports Complex hosted by PESO-Asturias, Cebu while on November 16, 23, and 30, a barangay area level job fair in Cebu City will be hosted by PESO-Cebu City and DMDP.

On December 1, PESO-Cebu Province will host a job fair at the Cebu Provincial Capitol. Further, on December  8 and 16, another barangay area level job fair will be conducted in Cebu City and at DMDP Office on F. Ramos Street, Cebu City, hosted by PESO-Cebu City and DMDP.

In Bohol, a job fair will be held at Bohol Cultural Center in Tagbilaran City on November 23.

In a report, Baldoz took the opportunity to thank employers for their tireless participation in year-round job fairs which are one of DOLE's strategies in the pursuit of the overarching goal stated by President Benigno S. Aquino III, in his 22-point labor and employment agenda, to “invest in our country’s top resource, our human resource, to make us more competitive and employable” by addressing job mismatch.

According to Baldoz, the country’s network of  local government units and Public Employment Service Offices under the supervision of the Bureau of Local Employment, including DOLE’s regional offices, will host the DOLE's job fairs for the remaining days of  2013.

"We are constantly promoting better coordination between employers, the academe, and the government to strengthen cooperation so that the opportunities in the job fairs will be accessible to jobseekers in major cities, municipalities, and even in the barangays," said Baldoz.

Based on a preliminary report of the BLE, some 17,390 establishments and employers actively participated in 916 job fairs in the first nine months of  the year.

These fairs assisted 539,633 jobseekers, of  whom some 15.7 percent, or 84,650, have been hired-on-the-spot (HOTS), while others were assisted in completing their requirements for eventual job hiring, including referral to not just one, but several, job vacancies.

She also said the onsite presence in the job fairs of DOLE and other government agencies, such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, ensured that workers received related assistance, including skills training, retooling and upgrading to enhance their employability. (FREEMAN)