BACOLOD CITY – Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez on Monday said he is pushing for an intensified awareness campaign through the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) to fill some 20,000 job vacancies here.
“I’m monitoring our labor pool to see what job opportunities we have. As of last week when I asked, there are still 20,000 available jobs. I told PESO to accelerate awareness on openings to provide job seekers an easier way to apply for jobs,” he said in a radio interview.
In the recent employment fairs initiated by the city, most of the unfilled positions were those in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.
Benitez shared his recent experience, while at the airport’s pre-departure area in Manila waiting for his flight back to Bacolod, he met a group of passengers from another province hired to work in the city.
“That is a result of development in modern, highly urbanized cities. Before, everyone’s destination was only Manila. Now there is inward migration for those looking for job opportunities, and Bacolod is becoming one of those (destinations),” he added.
The mayor said the city needs to ensure its workforce is “properly equipped and trained” to get prioritized for hiring by companies based in Bacolod.
In his State of the City Address last July, Benitez underscored the need to implement a reskilling revolution to meet the demands of the local employment market since only a small portion of the openings get filled during job fairs.
He added that his administration wants to “ensure that all job openings are filled through a reskilling revolution.”
“We have been closely working with higher education institutions and local industries to identify what skill set is needed in the local job market so our schools produce graduates with the required skill set,” he added.
Benitez said the city government would also strengthen linkage with higher education, technical and vocational education institutions, and industry associations to craft workforce development plans to support various industries, particularly the information technology-business process management industry. (PNA)