Thousands of Job Seekers Flock to Pampanga Labor Day Fair

Rose Ann Villamor, a fresh graduate with a degree in business management from one of the universities in this province, was among the early birds in the Labor Day job and business fairs held on Wednesday at the Kingsborough International Convention Center here.

Like many new graduates and other job applicants who trooped to the “Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan and Business Opportunities” event, Villamor is looking forward to landing her first job.

She admitted feeling the pressure on finding employment opportunities.

But upon learning about the one-day activity spearheaded by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in time for the 117th Labor Day celebration in the country, Villamor said she now has high hopes of gaining employment.

“I am excited to apply for a job for the first time. The feeling of anxiety is, of course there, being a new graduate. But I am determined to get there. I think this job fair is a perfect opportunity for me to land a job,” she said.

Thousands of job seekers queued for the more than 10,000 job vacancies up for grabs in this year’s job and business fairs anchored on the theme “Pagpupugay sa Manggagawang Pilipino.”

DOLE Regional Director Zenaida Angara-Campita said there is a heavy turnout of job applicants who queued for 6,972 local and 3,597 overseas job openings.

Eighty companies participated, 64 of them offering local employment, and 16, overseas jobs.

“As early as 7 a.m., there are lots of applicants who queued for in-demand production and other professional jobs,” Campita said.

Job seeker Froilan Garcia, an information technology fresh graduate, said he is bit nervous and excited as it is also his first time to apply for work.

“I am looking forward to find job. I hope I would be able to impress my prospective employer,” he said.

Construction worker Marlon Buencamino is also trying his luck in finding a job.

“Nalaman ko na may mga trabaho para sa mga construction worker na tulad ko dahil sa programa ng pamahalaan na ‘Build, Build, Build’ kaya nagpunta ako dito (I’ve found out that there are jobs for construction workers like me because of the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program. That is why I came here),” Buencamino said.

Campita earlier said that Pampanga was selected to be the venue for this year’s Labor Day activity in Central Luzon, as it is the province with the most number of “Build, Build, Build” projects that include the Subic-Clark Railway Project (SCRP), the New Clark City Government Administrative Center and the Clark International Airport (CIA) expansion project.

During the fair, applicants also took the opportunity to avail of pre-employment services, such as issuance of birth certificates, clearances, and PhilHealth cards from the DOLE’s partner agencies — Social Security System, PhilHealth, and Philippine Statistics Authority, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

The Department of Trade and Industry facilitated a skills training seminar to Overseas Workers Welfare Administration beneficiaries.

Various local micro, small and medium enterprises and DOLE livelihood beneficiaries’ products were also showcased and made available for display and for sale during the event. (PNA)