AT LEAST 85 out of the 1,081 jobseekers were hired-on-the spot in this year’s “Trabaho Negosyo Kabuhayan (TNK) Job and Business Fairs” organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the cities of Tacloban and Ormoc on May 1, 2022.

Among the applicants who were hired on Labor Day job fairs were accounting staff, production crew, nurse, information technologist, cashier, human resources staff, supervisor, management trainee, sales associate, utility worker, and data encoder.

“We recognize DOLE for this face-to-face TNK Job Fair program. After the long period of anxiety due to the pandemic, we badly need this kind of intervention to help our economy bounce back to recovery,” said Eugene Tan, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Tacloban-Leyte Chapter.

The business leader lauded DOLE, participating employers and other government agencies for the conduct of face-to-face job fair.

Lawyer Miguel Tizon of labor and management representative also underscored tripartism as a key so that no sector will be left behind.

According to the labor department in the region, some 146 jobseekers were tagged as “near hired” during the job fairs and “will undergo further interviews or examinations, depending on the hiring company’s requirement.”

DOLE-Eastern Visayas Director Henry John Jalbuena acknowledged all the government agencies and partner employers for their support while urging all jobseekers “to be more patient and strategic in their journey towards employment.”

Meanwhile, Jalbuena led the awarding of the regional winners of the 2022 Search for Best DOLE-Assisted Livelihood Projects for individual and group categories.

Winners for the individual category were the videography project of Roy Valera from Balangkayan, Eastern Samar and the burger vending business of Jiwarren Lantape from Maasin City.

For the group category, the winners were the egg production of Lanawan Farmer’s Association in MacArthur, Leyte and Community Store of Cervantes Integrated Organic Farmers Association from Catarman, Northern Samar.

This year’s labor day job fairs brought over 3,000 local and overseas jobs from over 80 employers in the region.

A livelihood exhibit showcasing locally-produced items such as assorted native delicacies and woven banig were also made available for the public during the job fairs.

Social Security System, Pag-IBIG Fund, Philippine Statistics Authority, PhilHealth, and the Department of Foreign Affairs provided frontline programs and services for the jobseekers.

Also present during the event were Department of Trade and Industry Regional Director Celerina Bato, DOLE-Eastern Visayas Assistant Regional Director lawyer Cecilio Baleña, Police Colonel Edwin Portillo, National Maritime Polytechnic Executive Director Joel Maglunsod, and other members of the DOLE-Regional Coordinating Committee. (SunStar Philippines)