199 of 1K applicants hired during Labor Day job fair

ONLY 199, or 18.9 percent, of 1,054 applicants were hired on the spot (Hots) during the simultaneous job fairs in Cebu City and Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental on Labor Day, May 1, 2023.

The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 revealed that 131 of 728 of the applicants were hired in Cebu and 68 out of 326 were hired in Negros Oriental.

Emmanuel Ferrer, assistant director of Dole 7, said the number of Hots this year is already a significant accomplishment given that this means the job fair resulted in more employment.

This doesn’t mean the rest of the applicants will not be hired, as employers prefer to run applicants through another set of interviews, or more thorough procedures, than do a one-day hiring process.

“More or less, there is still a chance for them to be hired. We understand that there is also an inside mechanism within the company or the respective employers,” Ferrer said on Tuesday, May 2.

Ferrer is confident that the applicants, through the Public Employment Service Offices (Peso), benefited from their career advocacy programs and job coaching training.

Prior to the job fair, there had been a number of encounters between companies and job seekers, including seeking advice on how to get employed.

“The Peso managers in each local government unit play a very vital role in the program of Dole 7, particularly in employment facilitation,” added Ferrer.

Top hiring

Dole 7 records show that customer service representatives were most wanted during the job fairs with 35 Hots. This was followed by English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers with 28 Hots, cashiers with 24, card dealers with 22, and sales clerks with 14.

Ferrer further said that there were 206 non-Hots applicants who were referred to other programs that were lined up at the Labor Day job fair.

Around 108 of those who were not hired on the day of the job fair were referred to the Technical Educational and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) for skills training and enhancement.

“You might wonder what will happen to the remaining (applicants). As part of the intervention of the job fair, those unsuccessful in their application will be referred [to] Tesda for the enhancement of their skills,” Ferrer said.

Dole 7 announced on April 30 that there were 6,600 job vacancies up for grabs during the one-day concurrent job fairs, which were conducted in Robinsons Galleria Mall in Cebu City and Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Center in Dumaguete City on May 1, to commemorate the 121st Labor Day celebration.

Ferrer announced that the Kalayaan Job Fair will be held on June 12 in commemoration of Independence Day.