CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- About 104,786 job seekers in Central Luzon have found local or overseas employment in the first seven months of the year, through the various programs offered by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in partnership with the Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs) in the region.
The figure marks a 93 percent placement rate of 113,198 applicants for local and overseas employment. It is likewise 6,326 higher than the 98,460 reorded in the same period last year.
Head of DOLE’s Technical Support and Services Division for Employment and Welfare, Alejandro Inza Cruz, on Wednesday attributed the accomplishment to more employment opportunities, such as job fairs that were initiated and undertaken by the PESOs to ensure that more job hunters are employed.
“The DOLE and PESO are working hand-in-hand in providing more employment opportunities to ensure more job seekers land decent jobs,” Cruz told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview.
He said the employment facilitation activity initiated by the DOLE and PESOs include the conduct of 62 job fairs in provinces, cities, and municipalities across Central Luzon.
All national and local job fairs, he said, adopted the Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan (TNK) Concept forged by the DOLE and the Department of Trade and Industry.
Labor statistician Lyka Serrano, meanwhile, disclosed that several programs have been implemented to boost employment opportunities and learning experiences for the region’s working youths.
These include the Special Education for Students (SPES) program where some 2,532 youth beneficiaries have graduated from senior high school, technical-vocational, or college courses.
Prior to graduation, Serrano said the program provided short-term employment opportunities to deserving students to augment their family’s income.
On the livelihood provision, she said about 1,926 marginalized individuals had been given a livelihood grant for their entrepreneurial ventures through the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP).
On the other hand, about 4,042 had been provided 10- to 30-day temporary employment through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged Workers Program (TUPAD).
DOLE 3 (Central Luzon) Director Zenaida Angara-Campita thanked and commended the efforts of the entire Central Luzon PESO family, as she vowed to work for their continued partnership in empowering job seekers and the marginalized sector.
“The DOLE is grateful for the PESO’s valuable contribution to the promotion of employment opportunities. Still, we work on continuously improving and capacitating our implementers as they bridge our employment programs to the grassroots,” she said. (PNA)
