As Ineng exits, Laoag holds job fair for calamity victims

LAOAG CITY, Sept. 4 (PIA) – As Typhoon Ineng exited, the city government of Laoag conducted a job fair which offered hundreds of employment opportunities to the calamity victims here.

A total of 1,212 job vacancies for overseas and local employment were offered by the 16 employers who participated in the event as part of the rehabilitation program of the city government in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“There are 10 applicants who were hired on-the-spot and expected to report for work after a series of training,” said Jenelyn Martin, senior labor and employment officer of DOLE.

The job fair, which is also in time with the city’s annual celebration of the “A Cause for August,” delivered services from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
“For overseas employment, there were 964 jobs offered from different countries while for local, we have 248 job vacancies,” Martin said.

Many of the job orders for abroad are for skilled workers such as welders, metal fabricators, machinist, electricians, foreman as well as managerial positions and hospital staff.

Some of the jobs available for local employment are for call center agents, information technology (IT) professionals, accounting personnel, and for supermarket staff, but most of them are in the field of marketing and sales, she said.

“Though this is a constant program of the city and the DOLE, the advantages of having a job fair in the local area is that a job seeker spends less money and less time and minimal effort to find a job because job opportunities whether local or overseas are offered here under one roof,” Martin added.

Job applicants who joined the program were mostly from the places which were badly hit by Typhoon Ineng.

Jennifer Paraoan, a single mother and a resident of Piddig, Ilocos Norte was able to land a job in a books store in Laoag City.

“I am very thankful that I was hired on-the-spot today. This is a blessing for me after the storm,” said Paraoan.
The Laoag City government is helping on reducing unemployment rate in Ilocos Norte together with the provincial government through job fair and augmentation of local job opportunities. (CHERRY JOY D. GARMA/ PIA)