ILOILO City – The recently concluded jobs and livelihood fairs conducted during the 116th Labor Day Celebration produced 70 jobseekers hired-on-the-spot (HOTS) and 1,564 near-hires or those qualified applicants which will be placed once the concerned companies have completed their final assessments.
DOLE 6 regional director Atty. Johnson Cañete announced this after the results were tallied and verified. Cañete also said that it is expected to increase in the next few days once participating local companies and overseas recruitment agencies submit the results of their assessment of near-hires and for further interview applicants.
Around 1,068 jobseekers participated in the job fair, braving the long lines and the blistering heat. Their efforts paid off as a total of 1,304 jobseekers, or 122 percent of the registered applicants were considered as qualified.
For this year’s Labor Day job fair held at Marymart Mall in Iloilo City, 70 local companies and 11 overseas recruitment agencies participated, offering around 16,962 jobs.
Aside from the Jobs and Livelihood Fairs, DOLE also made available the DOLE Clinic/Help Desk where different agencies such as the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Employees Compensation Commission (ECC), Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), Social Security System (SSS), Home Development and Mutual Fund (HDMF) and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PHIC) provided services and employment counselling to jobseekers.
DOLE also conducted a Career Coaching and Entrepreneurship Forum in partnership with DTI, TESDA, and POEA. The forum, attended by 55 participants, focused on topics on life skills, basic worker’s rights, pre-employment orientation and entrepreneurship for millennials.
In addition, a Worker’s Forum was also conducted for the benefit of around 55 union members and officers. The forum covered topics on the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, DOLE Department Order Nos. 174 and 183 on contractualization and labor inspection, as well as tips and insights on negotiating with the management. Meanwhile, some 18 applicants were referred to TESDA for skills training, 56 were referred to DOLE for livelihood assistance, 46 were referred to DTI for business opportunities and around 50 were referred to other partner agencies for further assistance./PN
