“There is good news here.”
In a week’s time, Manila Bulletin will deliver the good news to Cebuanos when it takes the 6th Manila Bulletin (MB) Job Fair to Cebu on September 24 – 25 to open employment opportunities to Filipinos in the Visayas region.
Cebuanos will be given the chance to be employed on the spot with more than 25 companies expected to set up booths in SM Cebu. These employers will come from various industries, including retail, recruitment, hospitality, manufacturing, business process outsourcing, information technology, and telecommunications.
This is the second part of the MB Job Fair, which drew in more than 3,000 jobseekers during its Manila leg held last August 13 and 14 at the SM North EDSA Skydome. Around 453 applicants were hired during the two-day event.
The success of the first leg attracted more companies to join Manila Bulletin’s Cebu job fair.
Sun Cellular-Digitel Mobile Phils.; Wipro BPO; Jebsens Maritime, Inc.; EXL Service Cebu Phils.; Techno Trade Resources, Inc.; International Specialty Concepts; AMEC Services Ltd.; Accenture, Xlibris, Qualfon; and The Results Companies have also thrown in their support to the event.
MB Classifieds Advertising Vice President Lyne Abanilla is looking forward to replicate the Manila feat in the Queen City of the South. “We are more than motivated to reach out to our friends in Cebu,” she says, adding, “We have high hopes that we will be successful as well.”
Considered the gateway to around two-thirds of the Philippine archipelago, Cebu is also one of the primary destinations of foreign visitors.
Early on, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) lauded MB’s Job Fair, with DOLE Assitance Secretary Rebecca Calzado finding the event “unique” as it offered various kinds of employment opportunities and opened doors to both young and old applicants.
“I was very happy to hear that contrary to what you think, this job fair is also open to our older workers,” she said.
Abanilla said the job fair is one way of helping both government and private sectors address employment challenges.
Data from the latest Labor Force Survey show that the country’s unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent in July this year compared from last year’s seven percent.
During the August job fair, St. Luke’s Medical Center received the most number of applicants with 956, followed by Telus with 500 candidates. Moldex Realty, Inc. got 377 jobseekers, while Ayala Automotive and Teledevelopment received 373 and 350 applicants, respectively. The top six companies who hired the most jobseekers include Euro Asia Philippines, Startek, Haute Couture, Convergys, PCCW Teleservices, and John Clements Consultants, Inc. Euro Asia Philippines and Startek both hired 100 jobseekers. Haute Couture F&B Concepts, Inc. hired 79 applicants, while Convergys now has 34 new employees. Telecommunications and I.T. solutions company PCCW hired 26 and John Clements got 20 new workers.
Aside from DOLE, the sixth MB Job Fair is supported by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) with official event partners Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, Transcom, Hinduja Global Solutions, Ipams.Com, PLDT Kaasenso, PC Express, Tempura Japanese Grill, and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

Source: Manila Bulletin- September 15, 2013