Pursuing independence on Independence Day
MANILA, Philippines - In the Philippine context, a person is said to have gained independence when that person leaves the family nest or graduates from college.
In support of fresh Filipino graduates and jobseekers, wireless leader Smart Communications Inc. commemorated Independence Day last June 12 by hosting a job and entrepreneurship fair during the commemorative Kalayaan Festival 2011 held at Freedom Park beside the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite — the national bastion of Philippine independence.
Dubbed the Smart Pinoy “Buhay Asenso” Job and Nego Expo 2011, the event showcased several land- and sea-based manpower agencies that offered a variety of local and overseas employment opportunities to Caviteños. Government agencies, local businesses and franchises — including those from Manila — were also on hand to offer viable options to aspiring Cavite entrepreneurs.
The event was formally launched with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Kawit Municipal Mayor Reynaldo “Tik” Aguinaldo and Smart area sales manager JJ Deomana. In his opening remarks, Aguinaldo thanked Smart for supporting the municipality of Kawit and for providing his constituents a chance to uplift their quality of life via the livelihood opportunities available through Smart’s job and entrepreneurship fair.
Deomana said, “Smart’s Job and Nego Expo is designed to help Filipinos realize their dream of going abroad or putting up a business in order to attain a brighter future.”
Locals of Kawit and even those from the neighboring cities of Imus, Cavite, and Las Piñas, Manila, took part in the job fair that culminated with a free concert by Aegis, one of the local scene’s most popular live bands.
Cavitenos Go Job-Hunting
Joanna Millare, 20, is a fresh Psychology graduate of San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Cavite in Cavite City. She attended Smart’s job fair with her best friend in the hope of finding work as an office worker. She left the job fair a step closer to her goal as a staffing agency based in Pasay, Manila, accommodated her application and handed her an interview slip after only one preliminary interview.
Lorna Pesino, 35, a Computer Secretarial graduate of Datamex Institute of Computer Technology in Morayta, Manila, went to the Smart expo hoping to land a job as a factory worker in Dubai.
Meanwhile, the Smart expo was Jeffrey Gregorio’s first job-fair exposure. Gregorio, 27, has similar aspirations of making it overseas as a bus driver in Qatar or Dubai despite lacking a college education.
Business Insights
Smart not only paved the way for an exchange between prospective employers and job hunters, it also gave them and aspiring entrepreneurs something to take home by way of four livelihood seminars.
Sharing practical job-hunting/business insights were Lourdes Punzalan, owner of Ticanocah Livelihood Training Center, who taught about making perfume, candles, and dishwashing liquid; Rhea Suiza of Workabroad.ph, who discussed how to find legitimate overseas employment online; program manager Carlo Calimon of Let’s Go! Foundation talked about how to identify winning business opportunities and ideas; lastly, Go Negosyo Angelpreneur Reuel Virtucio concluded the seminar series with his talk on spotting business ideas and brand names that work.
Now in its fifth year, the Smart Pinoy job fair is in partnership with the Dept. of Labor and Employment, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Go Negosyo, Let’s Go Foundation, Jobstreet, Kalayaan Festival, and the local government of Kawit, Cavite. Also partnering with Smart were Juicy, Silka, Protect Hand Sanitizer, and WOW Fiesta.
