DOLE: Over 20,000 jobseekers get employment

MANILA, Philippines – In just a day, more than 20,000 jobseekers nationwide have found new jobs, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the nationwide job fairs held last May 1, Labor Day, resulted in the on-the-spot hiring of 20,905 out of 127,880 applicants.

“The number of applicants who got hired on-the-spot represented over 21.6 percent of the total registered jobseekers who have qualified,” Baldoz said.

She said the National Capital Region (NCR) posted the highest number of on-the-spot hiring with 4,282; followed by Central Luzon with 3,356 and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) with 2,091.

The labor chief expressed confidence that the number of on-the-spot hires may still increase as there are DOLE regional offices that have extended their job fairs.

She said 85,848 jobseekers out of the registered applicants were also assessed for further interview, while 6,429 “near-hire” job applicants were referred to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to avail themselves of the free skills training and upgrading they need to qualify for jobs.

Among those who got hired on-the-spot was tech-voc graduate Gian Carlo Lassalya, who in the past had difficulty finding employment due to lack of an academic degree.

After undergoing TESDA training, Lassalya was finally hired by Nanox Philippines, Inc. as an LCD operator and production trainee.

“We made May 1 a special day for our nation’s workforce by bringing jobs closer to more graduates and jobseekers, especially in the regions, thus making them spend less money and exert minimal effort in their job search,” Baldoz said.

She said it normally takes several days or weeks for a jobseeker to apply and land a job successfully.

“For a jobseeker to be hired on the spot, in just a day or less, and for an employer to get their skilled manpower in the same period, translates to less inconvenience, and therefore, more productive results,” she said.

Baldoz added that there would be more vacancies and livelihood opportunities within reach of new graduates, returning overseas Filipino workers, out-of-school youth, women and informal sector workers, and all other jobseekers even long after Labor Day.