250,000 local, overseas jobs offered at Labor Day job fair

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said that some 250,000 local and overseas jobs will be offered to graduates, new entrants to the labor force, and other workers especially those who were affected by the global crisis at May 1 Jobapalooza ’09 job fair marking the Labor Day celebrations in 16 regions nationwide.

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said a total of 1,677 local employers and recruitment agencies offering hundreds of thousands of local and overseas employment opportunities are participating in, so far, the biggest simultaneous job fairs nationwide.

Roque said the Jobapalooza ’09, led by the country’s largest labor unions and corporate sponsors, marked the collective action and mutual collaboration of social partners in helping the workers find jobs in order to mitigate the effects of the global crisis on the workers and the economy.

He thanked the unions as well as the sponsors and participating employers for lending a hand in the conduct of the mega job fair all over the country, saying that their collective efforts would greatly facilitate the workers’ search for jobs locally and overseas.

The May 1 Jobapalooza ’09 with the theme “Tayo Na, Trabaho Na,” is participated in by 830 employers offering a total of 45,776 local employment and 847 recruitment agencies offering a total of 173,204 job vacancies for overseas work.

The main event will be held at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City opening at 8:45 AM until 4:00 PM. Similar events will also held simultaneously in 15 other key regional sites around the country.

Skills demonstrations and distribution of training and scholarship certificates will also be conducted at the Jobapalooza job fair at the SMX Convention Center and other regions.

At the same time, the products of beneficiaries of DOLE livelihood programs and other workers groups will be displayed and sold at the job fairs.

Among the vacancies offered include jobs in call centers, BPOs, IT services, wholesale and retail, construction, engineering, automotive, food and beverages, catering, hotels and restaurants, agriculture and agri-related business, manufacturing, apparel, education, banking and finance, travel and tourism, real estate, transportation, hospital and medical services, and bio-technology and clinical research.

Roque encouraged jobseekers to register with Jobapalooza by logging on to http://phil-job.net for pre-screening by participating employers who would in turn email those who are qualified for interview and final instructions on their application during the May 1 job fair.

This will provide a clearer picture on the number of workers who were hired on the spot as well as the skills that were in demand including those that weren’t filled up due to lack of qualified applicants, Roque said. –DOLE Information and Publication Service