DOLE: 250K jobs up for grabs at Labor Day job fair

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has set up job fair sites across the country offering 250,000 jobs in celebration of Labor Day.

“Meron po tayong 69 job fair sites sa buong bansa po,” DOLE Bureau of Local Employment head Assistant Secretary Patrick P. Patriwirawan Jr. told Unang Balita in an interview Thursday.

(We have 69 job fair sites nationwide.)

“Inaanyayahan po natin ang mga kababayan natin bisitahin ang mga job fair sites na po ito na nag-o-offer na po ng 250,000 po na vacancies para po sa ating mga job seekers at kababayan,” he added.

(We invite our countrymen to visit these job fair sites which are already offering 250,000 vacancies for our job seekers and countrymen.)

Earlier, DOLE said the main job fair venue will be at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Applicants are advised to reach out to their nearest Public Employment Services Office (PESO) or DOLE regional or field offices to access the full list of venues, participating employers, and available job roles.

Participating job seekers can expect vacancies from the industries of manufacturing, retail, BPO, accommodation/food service activities, and financial/insurance, DOLE said.

Top vacancies include production operators, sales clerks, call center representatives, service crews, and microfinance officers, according to DOLE.

Other participating employers include Globe, LBC Express, Asia Brewery, Inc., Puregold, and other legitimate human resource agencies nationwide.

Hired-on-the-spot

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma expressed hope that at least 25%-30% of the job seekers will be hired on the spot during the nationwide Labor Day job fairs.

“Sana kahit 25% to 30% ang ma-hire at marami rin sana maging nearly hired. Kasi ang nearly hired siguro may ilan lang requirements ang kailangan ma-satisfy. Susundan namin ‘yun dahil ‘yun ang tagubilin namin sa aming mga field offices,” Laguesma told reporters.

(We’re hoping that at least 25%-30% will be hired on the spot and that many of them will be nearly hired. If you’re nearly hired, that means you only need to satisfy some requirements. We instructed our field offices to offer them help.)

“Ano ang kulang? Para matulungan natin sila,” he said.

(We want to know what they need so we can help them.)

As of 10:30 a.m., data from the DOLE monitoring center showed around 852 job seekers pre-registered for the job fair at the SMX Convention Center, of which 273 attended.

At least 27, meanwhile, were hired-on-the-spot including 19-year-old Daniel Ramos, who applied as a grocery bagger.

“Okay naman pero nakaka-overwhelm kasi first time ko…Mabilis ang proseso at madali ang naging proseso sa pag-aapply,” said Ramos.

(The experience was okay. I was overwhelmed because this was my first time attending a job fair but the process was fast and easy.) — Joviland Rita and Sundy Locus/RSJ, GMA Integrated News