GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/30 April) – About 14,000 local and overseas job placements will be opened to job seekers in Region 12 or the Soccsksargen Region during the simultaneous Labor Day job fairs here and in two other cities in the region on Tuesday.
Chona Mantilla, regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), said Monday the three regional job fairs are among the highlights of the agency’s celebration of Labor Day in the area.
She said the job fairs will be held at the KCC Mall here, South Seas Mall in Cotabato City and the city gymnasium of Kidapawan City.
On Monday, a pre-Labor Day job fair was also held at the Gaisano Grand Mall in Koronadal City.
“Our attached and allied agencies will also render free services, seminars and orientations to our job seekers and concerned residents,” Mantilla said.
Among the government agencies that signified to put up booths at the job fair venues were the Social Security System, National Bureau of Investigation, Pagibig Fund and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.
As of Monday, Mantilla said 114 companies and job placement agencies from the area as well as other key cities in the country have signified to join the activity.
She said they include 62 recruitment agencies that will offer 10,315 overseas placement opportunities, to both professional and skilled job seekers.
A total of 3,452 local jobs will also be opened during the three job fairs, Mantilla said.
Dominia Milan, DOLE Sarangani-General Santos City labor officer, said the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will also hold orientations for beneficiaries of its convergence program.
She said they have initially identified 44 scholars or beneficiaries for DOLE’s Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) and TESDA’s Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP).
She said 22 beneficiaries each were chosen from the municipalities of Malapatan and Alabel in Sarangani province.
Milan said they’re hoping that more job seekers from the area would be hired “on-the-spot” in Tuesday’s jobs fair.
“We’re aiming to surpass last year’s record of 200 job seekers who were hired on-the-spot by the participating companies and recruitment agencies,” she said.
Milan said they are currently assisting the initial job seekers who have registered at their office in coming up with some of the requirements to increase their chances of getting hired “on-the-spot” during the job fairs. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)