DepEd-Bicol Advises Gov’t Jobseekers To Use Online Platform

The Bicol regional office of the Department of Education (DepEd) here is advising government jobseekers in the region to make use of an online platform established to democratize the recruitment system.

Formally established recently along with four other government agencies via a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Bagumbayani and Kalibrr, the system widens the contracting net and the market reach of the government online, DepEd Bicol Regional Director Ramon Fiel Abcede on Thursday said.

The Bagumbayani is a youth organization consisting of civil servants promoting positive change and integrity in the government by sustainably recruiting young people into the civil service and marketing it as a practical, viable, and purposeful career option.

Abcede said this youth group has formulated a three-pronged approach—Match, Train and Sustain– to encourage young people to work and stay in the government.

Through the Match approach, Bagumbayani markets government vacancies to talented graduates and professionals online and offline through a partnership with job matchup site (www.kalibrr.com) and government-youth mixers.

In the Train approach, the group provides mentorship and training for young people in government through a new recruits training program which is built on skills-building workshops and learning sessions that prepare young professionals for the civil service.

In the Sustain approach, Bagumbayani holds regular community meetings to discuss issues, cultivate collaboration, and work on multi-sectoral initiatives, according to Abcede.

He said the youth in government, who make up the Bagumbayani initiative, come from various walks of life—reputable universities from both home and abroad, the development sector and the private sector.

They have influenced like-minded peers to join the civil service, bringing with them their youthful energy, vigor, and the desire to change the government from within, according to Abcede.

The Kalibrr, on the other hand, is a job-matching online platform for jobseekers and companies.

Its cloud-based platform enhances the way applicants find jobs and companies hire talents through its series of enhanced assessments.

The Kalibrr, which has partnered with some of the Philippines’ most prominent business process outsourcing (BPO) companies to connect qualified users to world-class employers, is a website that has two main functions: to assess users’ eligibility for a job and to train users on job-specific competencies and skills.

Abcede said this new jobseekers platform is part of the education department’s initiative under its belief that better government service depends on having the right people for the right job to serve Filipino learners in the best way it can.

The agency looks forward to maximizing its partnership with the Kalibrr and the Bagumbayani so it can cast its nets wider and allow for merit-based recruitment and talent sourcing that allows Filipinos anywhere in the world to be given a chance to take part in the deep and unique privilege of serving the Filipino people through government service, he said.

The DepEd is not only helping people get jobs but also making an impact to the trajectory of the Philippines by helping connect inspiring and progressive public servants to government, Abcede explained.

Through the combination of technology and the desire to bring change, the agency is transforming what it means to find a job in government, he said, citing as an example that a jobseeker in Masbate can now, by just being on the Internet, learn about and engage with the thousands of government jobs.

This partnership among the DepEd, four other government agencies, the Kalibrr and the Bagumbayani, the regional education chief, said breaks the notion that in order for someone to land a job in government, one should be connected with someone else inside.

This partnership makes government jobs accessible to all online, he noted.

The four other agencies he was referring to are the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Finance-Bureau of Local Government Finance (DOF-BLGF), Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and Public Private Partnership (PPP) Center.

These departments, along with DepEd, according to Abcede, are actually the second batch of government agencies to sign agreements with the Kalibrr and the Bagumbayani.

The first batch of agencies which signed on August 27, 2015 is composed of the DOF, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), he said.

In fact, as of the latest postings the DOF, BIR, DBM, DOTC and DOT have already posted 3,320 vacancies online, in an effort to radically open up and widen the reach of government recruitment and to invite more young Filipinos to join the civil service, Abcede said.

These vacancies have been posted at the Kalibrr.com in accordance with the MOA to promote positive change and integrity in the government by sustainably recruiting young people into government service.

Of the 3,320 vacancies, 3,211 entry-level positions are from the BIR, 41 positions from the DOF, 31 from the DBM, 33 from the DOTC and four from the DOT.

Since the vacancies were published in an initial soft launch in April, these agencies have respectively received 244, 154, 152, 18 and 59 applications, he added. (PNA) RMA/FGS/DOC/CBD/EDS