Mandaue Peso gives work to 12T

MORE than 12,000 jobseekers were employed last year with the help of the Mandaue City Public Employment Services Office (Peso).

But Peso head Musoline Suliva said job mismatch remains a challenge.

Suliva said call center companies tap Peso’s services, but many of the applicants they recommend do not get hired because of their lack of skills, such as fluency in English.

“Call centers have high standards,” he said in an interview yesterday. “To raise the jobseekers’ chances of getting hired, we give them employment coaching,” Suliva said.

The applicants are taught how to handle job interviews and write application letters and resumes, among others. The coaching session, which lasts an hour, is offered for free at the Peso office.

Aside from call center companies, malls and other firms also hire applicants with the help of Peso.

Last year, Peso matched 12,263 jobs, mostly in the government. Many of those hired worked as job order employees at the City Hall. The office matched 801 jobs in 2011 and 1,444 in 2010.

Unlike last year, they did not include government jobs in the two previous years, said Suliva.

Their office also helped match jobs offered abroad, mostly in the Middle East.

Suliva said high school graduates and college dropouts who want to find jobs can go to the Peso office on the third floor of the Mandaue City Sports Complex.

Firms conduct job interviews and examinations and hire applicants on the spot at the Peso office.

Suliva said his office coordinates with the Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency.