Jobapalooza ’09 hired 10,000 applicants on the spot

With the collaboration of labor, private sector and government, about 10,000
jobseekers were immediately hired on the spot during the nationwide
Jobapalooza '09 job fair which was held nationwide in observance of Labor
Day Last May 1, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said.

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque cited the social partners
for their successful collaboration in the conduct of the Jobapalooza job
fairs in 16 regions, which in an unprecedented fashion gave jobs to 10,000
workers in a day of marathon screening and selection by employers who
participated in the job fairs.

Roque said the participating employers who offered thousands of local and
overseas jobs during the May 1 job fairs, focused greatly on the selection
of qualified applicants to hasten hiring and the workers' search for
employment as this would boost the country's resiliency against the effects
of the global economic crisis.

He added that aside from 10,000 applicants who were hired on the spot, the
Jobapalooza fair also referred another 16,442 jobseekers for employment in
participating firms which offered highly in-demand jobs.

In demand jobs in the country at present include those in call centers,
BPOs, IT services, wholesale and retail, construction, engineering,
automotive, food and beverages, catering, hotels and restaurants,
agriculture and agri-related business, manufacturing, apparel, education,
banking and finance, travel and tourism, real estate, transportation,
hospital and medical services, and bio-technology and clinical research.

The May 1 Jobapalooza '09 with the theme "Tayo Na, Trabaho Na," was
spearheaded by the country's largest labor federations and corporate
sponsors. It was participated in by 830 employers offering a total of
45,776 local employment and 847 recruitment agencies offering a total of
173,204 job vacancies for overseas work

The main event was held at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia
Complex in Pasay City. Similar events were also held simultaneously in 15
other key regional sites around the country.

The fairs were complemented with the awarding of livelihood and other forms
of assistance to needy workers. At the SMX event, Globe Telecom, which was
one of the Jobapalooza sponsors, gave a total of P300,000 for the enrollment
and one-year Philhealth coverage of 500 informal sector workers.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), on the other hand,
extended a total of P9 million in livelihood assistance to 200 overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) who were displaced by the global crisis.

Almost P3 million was also granted to eight Metro Manila-based labor groups
to fund their livelihood projects under the workers income augmentation
program (WINAP).

At the same time, the Bureau of Women and Young Workers (BWYW) distributed
certificates of training acceptance to 200 poor but deserving students under
the youth education-youth employability or YE-YE project affording the
beneficiaries educational assistance while training at any Jollibee food
stores.