150 tourism companies in DOT job fair

WHEN the pandemic hit, many tourism establishments stopped operating as international travel restrictions along with local lockdowns and community quarantines were put in place. Steven (surname withheld) said he opted to resign as chief concierge from the hotel he had been working for, for years.

“We were no longer operating at full capacity. If I didn’t resign voluntarily, I would have not received my separate pay immediately,” he told the Businessmirror. “If you wait to be terminated, it would be months before you’d see your pay,” he explained.

Steven is one of the lucky few, however. He was able to find work in the same position he held before, this time, in a new hotel that just opened in his city. “I’m glad to be working again,” he said, his relief quite palpable, while expressing optimism at the new relationships to be formed with new guests.

According to a report in November 2021 by the International Labour Organization: “In the Philippines, employment losses and decreases in average working hours in 2020 were among the largest. Employment in the sector contracted by 28 percent (compared to an 8-percent loss in non-tourism related sectors) and average hours worked by 38 percent. Workers in the tourismrelated sector working zero hours per week rose two thousand-fold (affecting 775,000 workers).”

The Department of Tourism (DOT) believes the job losses are larger, with the pandemic having affected close to 5 million tourism workers. With its program jointly administered with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), 7,510 jobs in 147 tourism establishments are available to applicants in the initial run of Trabaho, Turismo, Asenso! Philippine Tourism Job Fair.

Over 7K vacancies

IN a news statement, Tourism Secretary-designate Christina Garcia Frasco said these job vacancies are in accommodation establishments, travel and tour services, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) facilities and organizers, tourist transport operators, health and wellness services, restaurant/food service and other tourism-related establishments, and across three major locations: Manila, Cebu, and Davao.

“To further assist our kababayans and make their job-seeking experience more seamless at the job fair, the DOT and DOLE have opened the pre-registration for all three legs of the fair, covering one step of the application process. This enables the job seekers to focus instead on the core of the event, getting to know the participating establishments and companies and determining the career openings they wish to pursue,” she said.

Applicants, however, may still opt to walk-in during the job fair series.

Interested applicants for the Manila leg, which runs from September 22 to 24 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, in Pasay City, may register via https://bit.ly/philtourismjobfair

Job seekers for the Cebu leg, on September 22 and 23 at SM City Cebu, may pre-register at https://bit.ly/cebuphiltourismjobfair

For the Davao leg, from September 22 to 23 at Abreeza Mall Davao, job hunters may register at https://bit.ly/ davaophiltourismjobfair

Garcia Frasco expressed optimism that the number of jobs on offer will increase in the days to follow.

More listings at DOLE web site

OF the total jobs available so far, a total of 3,367 are from tourism enterprises in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon and Mimaropa. Tourism enterprises in Cebu and Davao are hiring for 1,633 and 2,510 jobs, respectively.

“While the DOT continues to work towards President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s vision for tourism to contribute greatly to our country’s economic resurgence, we fully understand the need for this to be met with efforts to fortify the tourism and allied industry work force,” said the Tourism chief-designate. “We could not be more grateful enough to the DOLE, the local government units, and all our partners in the private sector who have supported us in this important endeavor to bring back jobs lost, and to present a multitude of new opportunities for employment and greener pastures in the tourism industry to our fellow Filipinos,” she added.

The Manila leg of the job fair will coincide with the Hotels Supplier Show, after Global-link MP, one of the private sector partners of the DOT and DOLE, allotted more than 50 free booths.

For further information about the employers and job vacancies, interested applicants may contact the following focal persons:

■ NCR: itagote@tourism.gov.ph

■ Cebu:dot7accreditation@gmail.com

■ Davao: dotdavaotrainingunit@gmail.com

Job seekers and employers are also highly encouraged to visit philjobnet. gov.ph for more employment opportunities curated by DOLE.