BACOLOD City – Noting that only a few job vacancies were filled up during job fairs, the city government will implement a “reskilling revolution” to meet the demands of the local employment market.
Of the total 57,300 job openings offered in 15 employment fairs conducted by the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) last year, only 8,600 were filled, data showed.
“We need to close the skills gap,” said Mayor Albee Benitez.
The PESO is slated to hold another job fair at SM City Bacolod on July 24 to 25, with more than 11,000 vacancies for local and overseas employment.
The mayor said most of the unfilled positions were those in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, which indicates that the applicants lack the skill set for BPO jobs.
“We have been closely working with higher education institutions and local industries to identify what is needed in the local job market so our schools produce graduates with the required skill set,” Benitez added.
Benitez said the city government would strengthen linkages with higher education, technical and vocational education institutions, and industry associations, to craft workforce development plans to support various industries, particularly the information technology-business process management industry.
“We need to rethink the direction of Bacolod City College and refocus its programs towards reskilling and upskilling,” he said.
Benitez also said the city government would launch the OJT (On-the-Job Training) PH and Resumé PH in partnership with colleges to ensure enrolment-to-employment.
“These web-based platforms facilitate internships, job matching, and job placement. This would help graduating students and job seekers,” he added. (PNA)
