In celebration of its 81st anniversary, the Department of Labor and Employment Zamboanga City Field Office (DOLE-ZCFO) held a city-wide Job and Livelihood Fair last December 8, 2014 at Centro Latino Convention Center, Paseo del Mar, Zamboanga City.

DOLE-ZCFO Chief Ian A. Lahi said the office solicited almost 20,000 job vacancies from various participating establishments. This was made possible by the hefty contribution of overseas job vacancies of participating agencies as recommended by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Among the local employers who participated were the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Surequick Marketing Inc., Maguindanao Distribution Systems, Inc., Hinduja Global Solutions, By Gems Party Kingdom, Ayala Seafoods Corp., Mega Sardines, LM Metro Hotel, Philippine National Police- Special Action Force (PNP-SAF), KCC Mall of Zamboanga, Shop-O-Rama Group of Companies, and Sungate Pawnshop.

Overseas employment agencies who participated were Joseline International Manpower Corp., Mivian International Manpower Aggregate Inc., Workgroup International Manpower Services, Horas Human Resources Recruitment Agency Co., Zontar Manpower Services, Inc. and East West Placement Inc.

The Public Employment Service Officers of the Zambo-Isa Chapter were also on hand to assist job applicants in registering with the Philjobnet, the online job matching facility of the DOLE nationwide.

"Overall, there were 472 applicants interviewed and 370 qualified", Lahi said. "Of these, 90 applicants were hired on the spot (HOTS) garnering 19% absorption rate.

Feedback from employers indicated that they prefer to join Job Fairs as they noticed that the qualities of jobseekers are much better than walk-in applicants, while applicants interviewed said they prefer to join jobfairs since they don't have to spend much money in filing applications.

The jobfair is also an indication of possible growth in the economy as employers are asked to indicate if these jobs are results of business expansion or merely accession.

"Overall, the job fair is used as a major indicator in the quest for job creation and job preservation as Zamboanga City begins its recovery from last year's tragedy of the siege", DOLE -9 Regional Director Sisinio B. Cano said.

In the same event, the livelihood fair generated sales in the amount of Php 4,320.00, while Php 583,720.00 worth of starter kits were distributed to the Internally Displaced Persons.

Josephina A. Crudo, ZCFO