ILOILO CITY — A total of 103 applicants were hired on-the-spot during the job expo of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in Iloilo province on Friday.
In an interview Saturday, PESO manager Francisco Heler Jr., said a total of 2,144 jobseekers were “nearly hired” for local employment and 944 for overseas employment.
He said these jobseekers need to submit additional requirements.
The one-day job expo here offered more than 37,000 job vacancies.
Of the 160 companies that confirmed their participation to the job expo, 148 showed up.
Heler said the event drew 4,762 jobseekers, 700 more than the 4,007 job hunters during the job fair conducted in June last year.
He attributed the bigger number this year to the closure of Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan where thousands of workers have been displaced, as well as graduates of the K-to-12 program of the Department of Education (DepEd) who took the opportunity to apply for work.
Heler said that some persons with disabilities (PWDs), solo parents, Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and beneficiaries of the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) were also able to apply for jobs through the special lanes prepared for them.
Some 94 beneficiaries of the SLP, nine PWDs and nine solo parents were accommodated.
They were also able to cater to 44 graduates of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
A total of 16 local government units participated in the “Libreng Sakay at Libreng Pamasahe,” which provided jobseekers free transportation from their town going to the provincial Capitol and back.
Jobs offered were call center agents, teachers, sales agent, nurses, physical therapist, medical technologists, doctors, pharmacists, carpenters, welders, engineers (mechanical, civil or electrical), drivers, technicians (electrical, mechanical or aircon), information technology technicians and computer operators maintenance, among others. (Cindy Ferrer with reports from Jessa Mae Padilla and Marvin Mongao/PNA)
