Prospective employees wait for screening during the ‘Sulong Buhay Job Fair’ that FPIP held in Santo Tomas in coordination with the local governmentMore than 50 companies in Santo Tomas City, Batangas, including a dozen locators at the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) economic zone, need over 4,000 workers to fill up vacancies.

The city government of Santo Tomas and FPIP listed down the vacancies, numbering up to 4,184, during two “Sulong Buhay Job Fairs” they jointly conducted recently at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) campus in Santo Tomas City.

Of the total vacancies, roughly a third or 1,089 were jobs for overseas deployment, while the bulk of 3,095 were open jobs of local companies. Of the local vacancies, 1,113 were employment needs of FPIP locators.

Among their employment needs were engineers, accountants, psychologists, office supervisors, human resource personnel and production operators.

Ricky Carandang, FPIP vice president and head of external affairs, highlighted the importance of the job fairs. According to him, the job fairs “offer our locators a venue for hiring employees who will contribute to company growth. Local residents who are constituents of our LGU partners also benefit because they get hiring priority during these fairs.”

Santo Tomas Mayor Arth Jhun Aguilar Marasigan welcomed the close coordination among officials from the local government, FPIP and the private companies in holding the fairs.

“My administration’s top policy is providing access to decent jobs for Tomasinos and Batangueños. Industries and locators in the ecozones have significantly contributed to the continued success of my administration’s core agenda of providing decent jobs for Tomasinos,” Marasigan said.

Vice Mayor Catherine Jaurigue-Perez, for her part, said: “The job recruitment initiatives of the city government of Santo Tomas have shown that investors such as ecozones, locators and companies are welcome to our city. They play an important role in providing jobs for the Tomasinos and generating revenues for the growth of the city of Santo Tomas.”

Based on information from the Public Employment Services Office (PESO) of the City of Santo Tomas, at least 922 prospective employees and fresh college graduates showed up at the PUP venue and submitted their application forms; 217 were hired on the spot, while 609 were to undergo further processing, including 104 seeking overseas jobs. Close to 4,000 of the vacancies remain open for the taking, the PESO data further showed.

(Story/Photos by:Joel Gaborni)