Where to go for your next job hunting? What jobs will match your skills? Which online sites can lead you to legitimate employers for that dream job?
These are questions that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) can answer via the push of the button.
Your destination... DOLE's online job and skills matching portal Phil-JobNet (PJN).
PJN, one of the programs for jobseeking, gives labor market information (LMI) on career postings and available skills for both employers and potential employees.
"These include jobs that are in demand for the next 10 years, based on our labor market study Project JobsFit: DOLE 2020," Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement published in the agency's official newsmagazine, Philippine Labor.
Sectors identified as key employment generators include agribusiness, cyber services, health and wellness, hotel and restaurant, tourism, mining, construction, banking and finance, manufacturing, ownership dwelling and real estate, transport and logistics, and wholesale and retail trade.
Here's how you do it. Users can access features of PJN by logging on to www.phil-job.net either as a job vacancies, get employers' contact details, and submit application.
Employers, on the other hand, can post job vacancies for free, screen job applicants, run job matching process, and access applicants' contact information.
The website displays job fair schedules, top vacancies for the week, and top skills posted by workers. Search for job vacancies, livelihood programs, and training opportunities in cities, towns and province is done by using the website's interactive map.
Labor and Employment Chief Officer Evelyn Dacumos said that the most job hunters are vulnerable to employment scams.
"When you ask the unemployed what kind of job they are looking for; they would answer: 'Kahit ano po.' This [mentality] makes them vulnerable [to illegitimate employers]," Dacumos exclaimed.
To address this, Dacumos said, they set requirements for employers posting vacancies online. Employers have to submit Bureau of Internal Revenue certificate of Registration of Taxpayer's Identification Number and any of the following documents: Department of Trade and Industry certificate of registration, Securities and Exchange Commission registration, Cooperative Development Authority registration, DOLE License for Local Private Recruitment and Placement Agency, and Business or Mayors Permit.
PJN has a facility to approve, deny, or revoke an establishment's registration.
Philippine Labor reported that vacancies posted by employers in the system reached more than 200,000 during the first quarter of 2013.
"This is the first time that PJN registered and all-time high of 268,278 job vacancies posted-proof that our labor market information dissemination strategies are working," Baldoz said in the same news magazine.
Currently, 167,765 job positions are available for 83,528 jobseekers who submitted applications at PJN.

Source: Manila Bulletin - December 9, 2013