BY BENJAMIN CASPILLO III & JOSEF DAVIDON/UM Interns
A TOTAL of 249 applicants of the 1,152 who registered for the Labor Day job fair at SM City Davao on May 1 were hired on the spot.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) XI partnered with SM City Davao and the Public Employment Service Office to organize the job fair.
“Ang lahat ng tao ay magkakaugnay—as part of the ecosystem of our workforce, the environment, and the economy,” said DOLE XI regional director Randolf C. Pensoy during the opening program.
Among those hired on the spot was Adrian Rey Sajonia, a first-time job seeker who shared his gratitude and urged fellow applicants not to lose hope. Instead, he encouraged everyone to seize opportunities even if the job isn’t directly related to their field.
“That’s why this job fair exists. To bridge the gap between talent and opportunity,” said Leah Delarmente, SM City Davao’s mall manager, during her message.
This year’s job fair featured 45 participating employers, 38 local and 7 overseas, offering 6,741 job vacancies. Of these, 4,701 were local positions while 2,040 were overseas.
The most in-demand positions were customer service representatives with 1,723 openings and branch managers for overseas job vacancies with 558 openings.
