GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/30 April) — Around 28,000 overseas and local job vacancies will be up for grabs for job seekers here and the neighboring areas in two major job fairs organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Region 12 in connection with the Labor Day celebration on Thursday, May 1.
Edna Sales, DOLE Region 12’s technical support services chief, said Wednesday a total of 201 employers have so far confirmed to participate in the job fairs that will be conducted at the KCC Mall Events and Convention Center and at the SM City General Santos Trade Hall.
She said 113 companies and job placement agencies are joining the job fair at the KCC Mall and 88 at the SM Mall that would open at 8 am.
Some 16,960 job openings or vacancies will be opened at the KCC Mall job fair and around 11,300 at the SM Mall event, Sales said.
She said most of the job vacancies are for local placements, “which means immediate hiring or work for the successful job seekers.”
“These figures could still increase by the time the job fairs would open as we’re still waiting for confirmations from a number of companies and job placement agencies,” the official told MindaNews on the phone.
Aside from the job fairs, Sales said a forum for members of the academe will be held at the sidelines of the activities at the SM Mall trade hall.
She said the activity will gather stakeholders of the region’s academic sector to discuss problems on job mismatches and other related concerns in the area.
Region 12, which is also known as the Soccsksargen Region, comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
Sales said a grand skills display dubbed “world of work” will be staged at the same venue by professional groups and industry stakeholders in the region, she said.
Sales said the event will feature presentations and demonstrations focusing on various skills involved in “blue collar” jobs.
Attached agencies of DOLE will open desks at the two job fair venues to respond to inquiries and provide some services to concerned residents, she said.
The participating agencies include the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, National Labor Relations Commission and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
Meantime, Sales said they will also launch on Thursday morning the newly-installed solar panel system at the DOLE-12 regional office compound in Koronadal City.
She said the system involves a solar-powered generator that could provide stable power supplies to DOLE-12’s offices during power outages or brownouts.
The official said the installation of the solar panel system is part of the agency’s efforts to address the impact on their operations of the daily rotational brownouts affecting the area and help promote the adoption or use by local industries of the green technologies. (MindaNews)
