Iloilo Christmas job fair: 29,000 vacancies

ILOILO CITY – Some 29,000 jobs will be available during the Christmas Job Fair of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in Iloilo province on December 7-8.

Francisco Heler Jr. of PESO said 111 companies have confirmed their participation in the annual activity, 21 of which are offering 23,823 jobs for overseas employment, and 87 offering 5,177 jobs for local employment.

Three government agencies have also signified their interest to join the job fair – the Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

Heler said the available jobs may increase as they target to gather 150 companies.

“We are continuously accepting interested companies to join,” he said.

Heler said they have decided to conduct the job fair for two days to provide companies ample time to meet the jobseekers.

On Dec. 7, overseas recruitment agencies, business process outsourcing (BPOs), banks/microfinance, logistics, real estate and government agencies will entertain applicants.

Meanwhile, work related to retail/ wholesale, manufacturing, food service, car companies and hotels will be offered by participating companies on December 8.

So far, 155 applicants have already pre-registered at the PESO office.

Heler expressed hope that companies would be able to reach the target of 15 percent of the total applicants to be hired on the spot.

Department of Foreign Affairs, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the Professional Regulation Commission, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the Philippine Statistics Authority, and the Department of Labor and Employment assistance desks will be at the site to assist jobseekers in need of documents and other concerns. (PNA)