Labor Day jobs fair hires

Over 20 of 180 seekers

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)—As of 3:00 PM with still a handful of job applicants on queue for their job interviews, 22 Boholanos have landed their sought after jobs, when the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) brought out the 124th Labor Day Jobs Fair and government services caravan at the Island City Mall.

The jobs fair, participated in by 12 domestic establishments which are members of the local Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) and some six overseas and manning companies sending workers abroad, attracted about 200 pre-registered and walk-in applicants.

Set in time for the feast day of Saint Joseph the worker, the jobs fair was also joined in by national government agencies in a one stop shop jobs facilitation caravan.

Organized by the DOLE with the TIPC, Bohol Employment and Placement Office and its Public Employment Service Offices in the towns, the Jobs Fair had Bastract Manpower, Alturas Group of Companies and South Palms Resort and Spa as top three hiring companies during the day.

Jacob, 27 years old job seeker who used to work in Cebu, and who was among those hired on the spot for a call center in Bohol shared how convenient its was to join the fair and realize his dream.

Applying for work since December last year, said he has fulfilled his dream of a better pay enough to allow him to pay for a room rent and his personal needs as a bachelor.

Beyond the money, kaya na makarent og balay, he said as he added that the pay is stable enough for him.

Also joining the fair were Kompas (Oceanica), Bohol Quality Corporation, Davao Manpower Inc., Ibex Global Solutions, Task Us Bohol, Sagility, Be Grand Hotel, Due Ek Sam Inc., and Alano Lending Corporation.

Overseas manning companies include Light and Hope Overseas Agency, Placewell International Services Corporation, Inter-Universe Placement Philippines, SMC Manpower Agency Philippines Company, MMML Recruitment Services Inc., and Jake International Manpower Services Incorporated.

Technical assistance for the job applicants were provided by the Department of Information Communications and Technology and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Aside from the mandatory agencies that are mandated to assure workers of benefits like health and accident insurance in the Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and Home Development Mutual Fund, several more agencies joined the activity to facilitate their services.

These include Tagbilaran City Heath Office for medical certifications, Philippine Statistics Authority for national identification services, Civil Service Commission, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Professional Regulations Commission for work eligibility certifications.

For those intending to snag jobs overseas, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Migrant Workers, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration also set up workers’ assistance booths

Recent survey conducted by the Holy Name University’s Research Center and Publications showed that 53 percent of Boholanos are working, a good 42 percent who are not working; 51 percent of those working are hired while the rest or 49 percent are self-employed.

Of the Boholanos who are not working, only 22 percent are looking for work, the survey showed.

Of those working, 26 percent are professionals in technical work, 19 percent in sales, 32 percent skilled and only 23 percent unskilled.

Bohol keeps a 9 percent unemployment rate, according to the same recent survey. (PIABohol)

INTERVIEWS EVERYWHERE. Despite a policy of pre-registration, job seekers at the 124th Labor Day Jobs Fair found that they still can be entertained even if the just walk in, as domestic and overseas jobs opened for those seeking for work. (PIAbohol)