ILOILO CITY — Around 14,000 jobs will be available during the Christmas Job Fair of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in Iloilo province on December 8.
In an interview Thursday afternoon, PESO-Iloilo department head Francisco Heler Jr. said that 118 companies have confirmed to join the jobs fair.
Ninety-four of these companies are for local employment in hospitals, colleges, construction companies, hotel and restaurants, bakeshops, malls, real estate, distributor companies, car companies and banks, among others.
Among these companies are 24 recruitment agencies based in Cebu, Manila and Bacolod.
The number of participants is expected to increase, Heler said.
He said that public assistance desks will be established by various agencies to assist jobseekers for their needed requirements and address concerns.
Setting up assistance desks are the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Professional Regulation Commission, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Philippine Statistics Authority and the Department of Labor and Employment.
Special lanes will also be available for persons with disabilities, indigenous people, solo parents and beneficiaries of the Sustainable Livelihood Program and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Parolees from the Parole and Probation Office of the Department of Justice who will join the job fair will also be provided with a special lane. To recall, PESO-Iloilo is among the signatories of a memorandum of agreement to provide employment to parolees.
Heler said that some local government units in the province will provide “Libreng Sakay,” “Libreng Angkas,” and “Libreng Pamasahe” to applicants from their towns, especially those who will come from far-flung areas.
Pre-registration for the job fair is now ongoing at the PESO office at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol. Interested applicants are encouraged to register and apply.
The job fair will be conducted at the Capitol grounds and Casa Real Iloilo or the old capitol.
Heler hopes that companies will be able to reach its target of 15 percent of the total applicants to be hired on the spot. (Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
