CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)--A displaced online teacher was hired on-the-spot (HOTS) by Thinklogic Media Group as a store clerk/telemarketer during the 121st Labor Day celebration Mega Job Fair, May 1, at the SM Downtown, here.

From Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur, Andrea Vanessa Rimarate came to Cagayan de Oro (CDO) City solely to join the said job fair.

With an increasing financial need for her growing family, she decided to return to work in the formal sector after she was displaced as an online teacher when schools held classes face-to-face as part of a new normal after lockdowns were lifted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rimarate said she chose CDO since it is a flourishing city, meaning it has more jobs to offer. She also attended her first job fair with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-10 last year, and she was also thankful to have been hired during that time. But when she got pregnant, she decided to go back to her hometown in Aurora. She and her husband opened a "lechon" [roasted pig] business but it was not enough to sustain the needs of her three children.

Moreover, Rimarate’s story was only one of the 135 HOTS highlighted in the job fair as of 3:00 p.m. on May 3, 2023, in the final report.

DOLE-10 OIC-Regional Director Estrella U. Pahalla said the job fair was timely for the displaced, unemployed, and underemployed job applicants as an economic recovery measure for the country due to the pandemic.

DOLE-10 once again partnered with the Department of Tourism (DOT)-10 to boost the tourism industry sector in the region to improve their situation among the badly hit sectors during the pandemic.

About 92 companies brought 5,000 vacancies to the 3,012 jobseekers who registered for the job fair. About 253 were near hires, those with lacking requirements, or those for further interview, and 2,351 were qualified as of the May 3, 2023, final report.

Pahalla said 84 labor policy-compliant local companies were invited by DOLE-X with their 3,890 vacancies and eight POEA-licensed overseas manpower agencies with their 1,110 vacancies, all with approved job orders from POEA, now the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

The Mega Job Fair was in collaboration with the CDO Local Government Unit through its Job Placement Bureau-Public Employment Service Office (JPB-PESO) Manager, Kathleen Kate D. Sorilla.

The job fair was declared open by Pahalla during the opening ceremonies through a ribbon-cutting with partners: SM Downtown Vice President for Marketing Russel Alaba; Regional Tripartite Industrial Peace Council Labor Sector Representative Nicandro Borja; and Management Sector Representative Vivien Lawansa; Councilor Joyleen Mercedes "Girlie" Balaba, representing Mayor Rolando Uy; DOT Officer Decius Esmedalla, representing Regional Director Marie Elaine Unchuan;

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Assistant Regional Director Marigold Cherie Garrido, representing Regional Director Dan Navarro, was witnessed by the heads and officials of DOLE-10, its attached agencies through its Regional Coordinating Committee-10, the Department of Trade and Industry-10, the Department of Agriculture-10, the National Food Authority-10, and the National Housing Authority-10.

Pahalla read Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma’s message during the ceremonies. Laguesma highlighted the millions of Filipino workers in the country who gave honor and dedication to the country by giving happiness, hope, and strength to their families. He emphasized the workers’ contributions to the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic and continued growth, which is worth emulating.

Moreover, among the walk-in public, 275 were referred to TESDA-10 for skills enhancement; 15 for livelihood assistance; two for entrepreneurship opportunities; and 275 were referred to other participating agencies like the Social Security System, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Philippine National Police, NHA-10, and the DOLE-attached agencies.

The job fair is an employment facilitation strategy aimed at fast-tracking the meeting of jobseekers and employers/overseas recruitment agencies in one venue at a specific date to reduce cost, time, and effort, particularly on the part of the applicants. (DOLE-10/PIA-10)