GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 8 May) – Nearly half of the close to 5,000 job applicants from various parts of Southwestern Mindanao have obtained job placements as a result of the job fairs organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the region last May 1.
Ofelia Domingo, DOLE Region 12 director, said Wednesday the region achieved a placement rating of 43 percent for the five job fairs that were conducted by the agency in connection with the 110th Labor Day celebration in the area.
“Our placement rate was way above the national target of 15 percent for the event,” she said in a statement.
Domingo said their records showed that a total of 4,937 job applicants had registered and participated in the Labor Day job fairs in the region.
She said 2,091 of them gained placements for professional and skilled jobs in some local companies and overseas. In this city alone, 1,588 applicants were hired during the two job fairs here held at the KCC Mall of GenSan’s Events and Convention Center and SM City General Santos.
The job fairs were held simultaneously at the South Seas Mall in Cotabato City, Kidapawan City Gymnasium and Tacurong City Gymnasium.
Region 12 comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and North Cotabato as well as the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
“Our assessment showed that the strategic location of the job fairs mainly contributed to the high turn-out of the placement rate,” Domingo said.
Some 10,596 job vacancies were opened during the job fairs, which drew around 200 local companies and recruitment agencies.
The vacant positions comprised 3,003 jobs in the construction industry; 1,495 in manufacturing; 2,431 in health and social work; 1,142 in in hotels and restaurants; 879 in other community, social and personal service activities; 730 in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motorcycles and other household goods; 303 in fishing and agriculture; 244 in transport, storage, and communication; 33 in education; and, 27 in financial intermediation.
Domingo said that majority of the job hiring recorded during the job fairs were made “on-the-spot” by the participating companies and recruiters.
“The HOTS (hired on-the-spot) dramatically increased (compared to last year),” she said.
During the Labor Day job fairs in 2012, only 557 applicants were hired on-the-spot out of the 6,193 that registered for the event.
During the fairs, Domingo said they acknowledged the job seekers who were hired on-the-spot and presented tokens to employers for the placements.