THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) in Western Visayas has registered a total of 927 applicants during its Kalayaan Job and Livelihood Fair held at the Event Center of 888 Premier Mall in Bacolod City yesterday.
Of which, 25 were hired on the spot. They all applied for local jobs, the regional agency reported.
There were 574 qualified applicants, or those fit for requirements set by the employers, and 686 for further interview, it added.
Dole-Western Visayas Director Johnson Cañete, who led the opening rites, said the annual Kalayaan Job and Livelihood Fair held every Independence Day is one measure of the agency to liberate people from poverty.
Cañete said that is why the endeavor has evolved from being just a job fair to many other activities as some people want to avail other services of various agencies like Department of Trade and Industry, Social Security System, PhilHealth, and Pag-Ibig, among others.
“This is not only freedom from foreign invasion, but also from our own selves that we have to liberate from total dependency of income generation,” he said, adding that other members of households, aside from those working, should be taught of entrepreneurship to help improve their family’s living condition.
Themed “Kalayaan 2018 Pagbabago Ipinaglaban para sa Masaganang Kinabukasan,” the job fair is part of the 2018 Kalayaan Trabaho, Negosyo at Kabuhayan (TNK) activity.
Dole-6 earlier reported that at least 4,636 vacancies were offered to job seekers in Negros Occidental and other provinces in Western Visayas during the one-day job fair.
Of the total available jobs, 2,651 were offered by 21 local companies. The remaining 1,985 vacancies were through seven licensed agencies, it added.
Local jobs are those in the business process outsourcing (BPO) including customer services representatives and technical support associates.
Other vacant domestic works include heavy equipment mechanic, engineers, welder and crane operators for manufacturing, and drivers, conductors, and accountants for the transport sector.
For overseas, jobs are mostly for skilled workers like welders, carpenters, mason, pipe fitter, service crew, cashiers, drivers, and factory workers in countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai.