Foreign businesses in RP offer jobs for flood victims

MANILA, Philippines - Five foreign business groups yesterday announced that they are looking for 3,000 new employees in the business process outsourcing, health care, real estate, and telecommunications sectors. Victims of typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” will be given priority.

Fifty foreign firms are participating in the two-day “Foreign Chambers Local Employment Expo 2009” at the Market! Market! in Taguig City from Oct. 22 to 23. The American, Australian-New Zealand, British, Canadian, and European chambers of commerce are hosting the job fair.

“We were greatly saddened by the tragedy typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng have brought to the country. It gave the employment expo we will be holding this month a whole new meaning,” said Chris Ward, employment expo chair and Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce vice president.

He said they are thinking of ways to give typhoon victims easy access to the employment expo. One of the options they are looking at is providing a separate lane for typhoon victims or putting up a two-hour window for each day of the expo.

“We would want to help them out. Giving them access to the decision makers of companies during the expo is the least we could do,” Ward said.

The employment expo offers opportunities for technical to executive positions. Ward said participating companies might hire on the spot if they find an applicant that matches their employment requirements.

“It is our belief there is a great number of individuals from the typhoon ravaged areas that are qualified to have a career with some of the companies that are participating,” Ward said.

The employment expo is held twice a year and was started in 2007.