10,000 techvoc grads assured of employment

MANILA, Philippines - Want to get a job instantly?

Go to technical vocational courses, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) told graduating high school students and other jobseekers yesterday.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said graduates of techvoc education are hired easier and faster compared to graduates of other courses.

“Skilled workers are highly in demand here and abroad, thus techvoc graduates are hired instantly than other college graduates,” Baldoz said in an interview.

She then noted that about 10,000 new graduates of techvoc courses from the Technical Educations and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have been assured employment after the government initiated job fairs for them.    

Alan Macaraya, DOLE-National Capital Region (NCR) director, said the seven job fairs they have undertaken this month resulted to on the spot hiring of 1,365 TESDA graduates.

Aside from those who were hired on the spot, Macaraya said 8,642 applicants are now awaiting further interview and examination, and screening by the employers.

He said another 6,840 qualified applicants were also required by employers to submit documents and credentials for employment.

“The number of applicants hired on the spot combined with the number lof those lined up for further interviews and the number of qualified applicants asked to submit pre-employment documents is a very good indication of the success of the job fairs,” Baldoz stressed.

Based on DOLE data, a total of 14,533 job applicants registered for the seven job fairs participated by 508 employers. Majority of participating employers offered local employment. The employers offered a total of 90,220 vacancies, 57,213 were for local employment, while 33,047 are for overseas.

Baldoz said the series of job fairs, dubbed “Hanap-Buhay para sa mga TESDA Specialista” is a job bridging program for tech-voc graduates.

TESDA data show that tech-voc graduates in the NCR alone reached 171,412 in 2012.