164 jobseekers hired in online job fairs

CEBU, Philippines —  At least 164 jobseekers who joined the Department of Labor and Employment’s virtual recruitment fairs in Central Visayas were hired on the spot.

The five-day online Kalayaan job fairs scheduled from June 8 to 12, 2021 were part of the country’s 123rd Independence Day celebrations.

DOLE-7 Regional Director Salome Siaton said 15,089 jobs —12,995 local and 2,094 overseas job vacancies—were offered

Three firms participated in overseas employment, while 49 others took part in local employment fair.

“We are happy with the outcome of the activity. With the encouraging number of HOTS (hired on the spot), we’d like to also give credit to the participating employers who saw and considered the potential of the jobseekers that applied for a position in their respective companies,” said Siaton in a statement.

The regional director said 165 out of the 4,127 local applicants were immediately hired.

She also said 22 of the 222 overseas applicants are set to be hired.

Moreover, DOLE-7, in collaboration with Workbank, Inc., held a series of employment coaching sessions on the 11th and 12th of June 2021, which were largely attended by Grade 12 Senior High School and 4th year college students from various schools and colleges in Central Visayas.

“Apart from the hundreds of participants that entered through Zoom, we also monitored over 15,000 viewers through our Facebook page for all the coaching sessions conducted. This is the beauty of maximizing the use of technology and that of social media. And with the assistance of the Department of Education, we were able to extend and expand information coverage to as many audiences as possible,” said Siaton.

DTI also hosted webinars on Entrepreneurial Mindset and Consumer Advocacy in addition to the coaching sessions.

There were also virtual rooms manned for Online Public Assistance on DOLE's Programs and Services to answer client questions about the department's programs.

The World Day Against Child Labor was commemorated at the same time as the 2021 Kalayaan: Online Trabaho Negosyo Kabuhayan (TNK) Job and Business Fairs.

With this, DOLE distributed over P1 million in livelihood aid to the parents of the featured child laborers in Basak, Mandaue City.

“There was also feeding program conducted together with our partner-groups and agencies under the Regional Council Against Child Labor. Our sincere thanks went out to our donors and partners. Without them, the calendared activities for the celebration would not have been made possible,” Siaton said. — Jean Aldemer Seroje Salgados, Silliman University Intern, KQD (FREEMAN)