HIRED ON-THE-SPOT. Some of the applicants in the Labor Day job fair of the Department of Labor and Employment in Pangasinan on Sunday (May 1, 2022). They were among the 225 hired on-the-spot applicants. (Photo courtesy of DOLE Ilocos Region)
URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan – A 25-year-old first-time job fair applicant described the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Labor Day job fair as a wonderful experience.
"Thank you DOLE for creating a wonderful experience for us first-time job seekers. We appreciate your effort to help us find decent jobs," said Danielle Michelle Jose of Natividad town, Pangasinan who was one of the 225 hired-on-the-spot applicants in the Ilocos Region.
In an interview on Monday, DOLE Ilocos information officer Justin Paul Marbella said all of them were for local employment.
Of the total number, 171 were from Pangasinan, 14 from Ilocos Sur, and 40 from Ilocos Norte.
There were also 319 near-hire applicants, 278 of them for local employment and 41 for overseas employment.
Marbella said 67 applicants have been referred to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for skills training, 56 to the DOLE for livelihood assistance, and 107 to the Department of Trade and Industry for business opportunities.
He said there were a total of 1,091 registered job applicants.
“Of the total number, 785 applied for local employment and the 306 for employment abroad,” he added.
A total of 18,499 job vacancies were offered by 964 employers regionwide.
Meanwhile, DOLE also awarded livelihood aid to the different local government units (LGU) and workers in the region.
LGU Umingan in Pangasinan has received funding amounting to PHP1.9 million from DOLE through the integrated livelihood program that will be used for the rice selling project and procurement of farm implements to 283 beneficiaries in the locality, Marbella said.
He said LGU Sta. Maria also got PHP1.9-million funding under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers for some 550 emergency workers.
Nine former overseas Filipino workers also received PHP20,000 each for the livelihood grant through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Ilocos regional office.
Marbella added a marginalized vendor in Ilocos Sur was awarded PHP30,000 worth of marketable goods for her small-scale business.
“The awarding of livelihood aid is a testament to DOLE’s unceasing commitment to upholding (the) lives of workers not only in the formal sector but in the informal sector as well,” DOLE regional director lawyer Evelyn Ramos said. (PNA)
