Job fair yields 266 instant hires

CEBU, Philippines — A total of 266 jobseekers were hired on the spot (HOTS) during the Department of Labor and Employment in Central Visayas (DOLE)-7 Trabaho Agad Job Fair held in line with the country’s Independence Day celebration.

Out of the 519 individuals who registered for local job vacancies, 266 applicants were immediately selected by participating employers to join their respective organizations.

The job fair was conducted under the initiative of Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino to provide employment opportunities to unemployed Filipinos through the Trabaho Agad program.

DOLE-7 Regional Director Atty. Roy L. Buenafe said the activity also forms part of the region’s commitment to generate 20,000 jobs, an initiative launched in Panglao, Bohol, with the support of the Public Employment Service Office Managers Association of the Philippines (PESOMAP), local government units, and various tripartite councils representing employers, workers, and the government through the Regional Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (RTIPC).

According to DOLE-7, of the total number of applicants hired on the spot, 103 were male and 163 were female. Among them, 96 males and 154 females were regular jobseekers.

DOLE-7 highlighted its commitment to providing accessible, inclusive, and equal employment opportunities, citing the hiring of senior high school graduates and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Among those hired were 14 senior high school graduates, consisting of six males and eight females, while two PWDs, one male and one female, also secured employment.

DOLE-7 added that the inclusion of senior high school graduates among those hired demonstrates their readiness to enter the workforce.

With the increasing demands of the modern workplace, DOLE-7 vowed to continue expanding employment opportunities across the region.

The success of the job fair was also attributed to the presence of a One-Stop Shop Center, which brought together major national government agencies, including the Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Social Security System (SSS), Pag-IBIG Fund, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), and the Department of Health (DOH), among others.

DOLE-7 expressed optimism that more jobseekers will benefit from future editions of the Trabaho Agad Job Fair in the region.