Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Marianito Roque defended the conduct of job fairs held in several parts of the country and stated that these are not mere gimmicks.

Secretary Roque said, in a statement released at DOLE website, that job fairs are crucial measures in helping employers find appropriate skills they need, at the same time, facilitating the placement of workers in need of jobs. He further claimed that a total of 1,032 job fairs were conducted nationwide between January and November last year which offered 1.34 million job vacancies.

Sec. Roque cleared that not all job vacancies are filled up immediately after job fairs since companies still undergo rigid selection of short listed applicants met through job fairs. “Selection may start with an initial interview of applicants as the fair is going on…the recruitment of selected applicants who troop to job fairs usually takes place at the company level, where management makes the final choice out of initial interviews and résumés of jobseekers it had gathered during a job fair,” the Secretary adds.

Moreover, skill mismatch is still a perennial problem among applicants given that most jobseekers do not have the necessary qualifications or skills required by the employers. This entails the company to continuously participate in other job fairs to be able to find the applicant they are looking for.

Sec. Roque adds, “job fair also offers services whereby workers are given opportunities to embark on livelihood projects or to undergo skills training and upgrading to enable them meet the skills requirements of industry."

Please visit the Trabaho.com Events and Seminar page for a list of job fairs in the Metro.