Job fairs expose job mismatch

CEBU, Philippines - Only 301 job seekers were hired on the spot of the 24,606 job vacancies available during the May 1 job fairs at the Cebu City Sports Center, SM City Cebu and Cebu International Convention Center and in Dumaguete City.

Department of Labor and Employment Regional Director Maria Gloria Tango said the job fairs only exposed the “job mismatch” among applicants and the jobs they wanted to land on.

“There are many job applicants who do not match the qualification of the jobs available,” Tango said.

Tango said there are 6,064 total registered job applicants during the job fairs.

Of these applicants, 3,576 were interviewed while 3,854 were referred to agencies.

DOLE-7 chief labor and employment officer Maria Nancy Abad said that 271 applicants hired on the spots were for domestic employment while 30 were hired for overseas-based jobs.

Abad said most of those hired on the spot for domestic employment were production workers and office works.

Of the 30 workers hired for overseas employment, 20 are male who were hired as welders, skilled workers and supervisors to be based in Singapore, while the 10 are female hired as domestic helpers for Taiwan and in Hong Kong.

Abad said most of those applicants for overseas employment were not hired on the spot because of the requirement of two years experience.

She said that while many are qualified for the two-year experience requirement, they could not afford the placement fees.

But Tango still assessed that the activity was successful.

Tango said that jobseekers not hired on the spot should not worry because they will continue to process their applications.

Tango explained that some employers may require qualified applicants to undergo a certain process before they finally decide to hire.

Applicants whose papers were not processed and those who have not undergone the interview were advised by the recruitment agencies to appear in their offices after the jobs fairs. 

Tango explained that many jobseekers, particularly the new graduates, could not easily get hired because they do not have the qualifications required by the market. 

Tango said that students should learn what occupations have high employment prospects, competency standards, and economic pay offs. 

“They should also learn what careers are associated to industrially-demanded occupations and the various educational and training skills that are needed in the market nowadays,” she said. — /LPM (FREEMAN)