HIRED ON THE SPOT. Shaira Carlon (center), 28, poses with Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) – Cordillera Assistant Director Emerito Narag (left) and Director Nathan Lacambra after she was hired on the spot within 30 minutes after the opening of the job fair at the Porta Vaga Mall in Baguio City on Friday (Dec. 1, 2023). About 3,523 job vacancies were up for grabs during the event, which was participated in by 30 companies as part of DOLE’s 90th anniversary celebration. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – Shaira Carlon, 28, found work through a job fair at the Porta Vaga Mall here Friday, an opportunity similar to what she had before the pandemic.
“I am happy. I’ll have a Merry Christmas because I am employed again. This is the first time after the pandemic that I am looking for a job,” said Carlon, who was hired on the spot as an administrative secretary of MJ Lac Construction and Aggregates at about 9:15 a.m., the first after the event opened at about 8:45 a.m.
Organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the city government’s Public Employment Services Office (PESO), the event is part of DOLE’s 90th anniversary celebration.
The job fair is eyed to fill 3,523 local job vacancies in 30 companies and 800 slots in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
In an interview on the sidelines of the event, DOLE-Cordillera Director Nathaniel Lacambra said their previous job fairs in the city logged a 15 percent hired-on-the-spot record and 40 percent rate for near-hired, or those who would be hired after completing their employment requirements.
“We are balancing the needs of the employers and the workers in events such as this by providing an avenue where employers can find an employee and the job seekers can find work,” Lacambra said in Filipino.
He added that companies that take part in the job fair have been filtered vis-à-vis any job-related complaints or cases. (PNA)
