CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- “We saw that the City of San Fernando’s Public Employment Service Office (Peso) performs the best practices and we are happy to be working with its government as we plan to establish our own public employment service center,” said Barun Kumar Jha, director of the Ministry of Labor of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

Jha mentioned this as some of his colleagues from the Ministry of Labor and the Chamber of Commerce of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal paid a visit to Mayor Edwin Santiago at city hall on July 25, 2018, for their study tour.

Santiago warmly welcomed Jha and other Nepalese officials including Krishna Prasad Gyawali, Prakash Panthi, and Saurav Ram Joshi, for the presentation of the mandates and functions of San Fernando’s PESO.

Topics discussed were Peso’s core services which include labor market information, referral and placement, youth career guidance and employment coaching, and skills training and livelihood, and how the office helps Fernandinos be equipped with proper skills, in preparation for their chosen fields or professions.

According to Jha, their government is inspired by the City of an Fernando and added that “they gained complete insights on how to build their own center, which could help Nepalese citizens become productive in the workplace.

Meanwhile, the City Investment and Promotion Office (CIPO) spearheaded the “Showcasing of Fernandino Lanterns, One-Town-One-Product” at the City Hall Atrium to the said visitors. CIPO presented the history of lantern-making in the city, and how it contributes to the economic development.

The lanterns of San Fernando have become symbols of strong economy and rich heritage and culture, making it the “Home of the Giant Lanterns” and “Christmas Capital of the Philippines,” attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists all over the globe.

For his part, Santiago said that San Fernando always envisions in becoming livelihood-friendly city, citing significant accomplishments of PESO.

“In 2017, we produced hundreds of ‘JobStart’ graduates, enabling them to be efficient in facing their chosen fields, plus, our hiring of applicants which amounted to more than seven thousand (7,000) individuals. This is what we envision, and this is what we do.”

Santiago added that the whole city government is grateful to the people of Nepal for “visiting the city and making initiatives to help people become successful in their lives.” (PR)