An estimated 1,000 job-seekers went to the Los Baños Municipal Court on June 28 for the job fair organized by the Public Employment Service Office (PESO), in cooperation with overseas jobs website WorkAbroad.ph and the Rotary Club of Los Baños Makiling.
A total of 22 overseas agencies and 50 local companies screened applicants for jobs for vacancies. These companies are looking for production operators, engineers, managers, and clerks.
Aside from the job fair, there were also seminars on enterprise development and financial coaching.
Gliceria Trinidad, LB PESO manager, said that the activity benefits both the local government and the private companies: the opening of jobs to high school students, college undergraduates, and other unemployed adults gives the people economic opportunities, while the companies are able to meet their need for human resources.
Job applicants and representatives of the participating companies agree with Trinidad’s view.
Ronel Jumaquio, an applicant for the post of production operator, appreciates the wide variety of posted job openings.
“Makakapamili ka kung ano ang gusto mo – di lang kung anong job ang gusto mo kundi anong career ang gusto mong pasukin,” he said. (You may choose what you like – not just the job but the career path as well.)
Junji Talatayon, hiring personnel of BSFil Technologies, said that people who applied during last Friday’s job fair have high chances of getting hired because they give premium to Laguna-based applicants since vacancies are in their Laguna site.
“Mas maganda [ang ganitong job fair] kasi ang mga applicants, taga-Laguna rin talaga,” she said. (This job fair is good because our applicants are from Laguna.)
Meanwhile, Lanie Caranguian, representative of the overseas job placement agency Metro Global, points to time and resources saved by applicants in visiting activities like this job fair.
“May mga [aplikante] kasi na di kayang pumunta sa Manila. [Dito] nabibigyan din [sila] ng chance na lumapit at makipag-usap sa amin kasi kami ang first step ng recruitment,” she said. (There are applicants who cannot go to Manila. In job fairs like this, applicants have the opportunity to apply and talk to us because this is the first step toward recruitment.)
Despite the high applicant turnout last Friday, Trinidad estimated placement rate of around 35 per cent. PESO’s first quarter job fair placement rate was at 45-50%.
The job fair is a quarterly project of the Los Baños PESO.