JOBS AND LIVELIHOOD PROGRAM. Photo (left to right) shows Bocaue Mayor Joni Tugna-Villanueva, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello, Senator Joel Villanueva and Sen. Sonny Angara's wife, Tootsie, sharing a light moment during the launch of the 2nd 'Tulong Trabaho at Kabuhayan' project held at the new municipal covered court of Bocaue, Bulacan on Thursday (May 2, 2019). The project aims to provide job and livelihood opportunities to the residents of Bocaue and other neighboring areas in Bulacan. (Photo by Manny Balbin)
BOCAUE, Bulacan -- Some 2,000 job seekers from this town and nearby areas on Thursday flocked to the second edition of the "Tulong Trabaho at Kabuhayan" employment and livelihood project here.
The event is the second one hosted by Senator Joel Villanueva, chairperson of the Senate committee on labor, employment, and human resources development, after its successful launch in Capas, Tarlac on the eve of Labor Day last year.
“We are glad to host another event that offers a lot of job opportunities for our kababayans. Our Tulong Trabaho at Kabuhayan project is a testament to our continuing advocacy to provide local and overseas jobs and skills training to our Filipino workers,” Villanueva said.
"Our job fair today here is not just a job and a livelihood but also a help to the Bocaueno family," the senator, who hails from this town, said.
The event, held at the Bocaue new municipal covered court here, gathered 30 local companies and four overseas companies that offered 2,800 job vacancies, mostly in the production and manufacturing sectors.
Bocaue Mayor Joni Villanueva-Tugna said “this day is super, extra special day for Bocauenos.”
"Dahil sa mga manggawang Bocauenos tumaas ang tax revenues ng bayan ng Bocaue (Because of the Bocaueno workers, the tax revenues of Bocaue has increased) more than to the expected limit," she said.
Meanwhile, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) conducted skills demonstration training during the fair.
The agency also brought in 13 accredited schools that offered scholarships under the free technical-vocational education and training (TVET) program.
Scholars will be entitled to an allowance of PHP160 per day, tool kits, and PHP5,000 worth of allowance.
The event also hosted demonstrations and trainings on perfume and soap making.
Profiling of applicants for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers Program (TUPAD) program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) was likewise conducted.
TUPAD program provides emergency employment for displaced, underemployed, and seasonal workers.
Villanueva said among the TUPAD applicants are the displaced fireworks workers in Bocaue.
“We want to help every displaced worker as much as we can, and through government programs like TUPAD, disadvantaged workers are given renewed hope with the livelihood assistance we offer to them,” the senator said.
Villanueva also led the distribution of financial assistance to 200 beneficiaries of the DOLE’s Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES).
SPES is a youth-employment bridging program that provides temporary employment to poor but deserving students, out-of-school youth, and dependents of displaced or would-be displaced workers.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), on the other hand, awarded certificates to the beneficiaries of the Community Empowerment thru Science and Technology, a program that targets to empower the poorest and most depressed communities in the country, via science and technology (S&T) interventions.
Other government agencies also put up a one-stop shop to provide additional services to the job applicants.
"We are a family of Filipinos and our stability depends on our country as a workforce of our workers. As long as there are Filipinos with jobs and livelihood, here or abroad, our economy continues to surge and our entire town," Villanueva said.
Those who graced the event were Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello, former Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, DOST Regional Director Julius Ceasar Sicat, TESDA Regional Director Joaquin Navarro, Senator Sonny Angara's wife Tootsie Angara, town officials and municipal employees and residents of this town. (PNA)
