PDI career expo draws hundreds of job seekers

CAREER EXPO Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz, Inquirer SVP Rene Reinoso, Inquirer president Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, Arthur Florentino and Lilibeth Cagara of DOLE-NCR cut the ribbon to open the jobs fair at Trinoma in Quezon City on Monday. JIM GUIAO PUNZALAN

A two-day jobs fair organized by the Philippine Daily Inquirer opened on Monday at Trinoma Activity Center in Quezon City, attracting dozens of companies and hundreds of job seekers, many of them fresh college graduates.

About 40 companies from the real estate, hotel, tourism and retail sectors took part in the fair, which was opened by Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, the Inquirer’s chief executive officer and president.

“We wish that this career expo will help all job seekers to achieve the jobs that will allow them to reach their full potentials and fulfill their career and personal objectives,” Romualdez said in her remarks.

She said job seekers could get job-hunting tips from the Inquirer broadsheet’s Working People section while those who frequent the Internet could check vacancies listed on the  Job Market Online.

Chito San Mateo, of the Inquirer’s marketing division, said the company holds four career expos in a year. The April leg is for new graduates looking for their first jobs, he said.

The first leg of this year’s expo was held in March at Greenbelt in Makati City.  The third and fourth legs are scheduled for November and December.

Call centers

Many companies who joined the expo came from the business process outsourcing sector. Recruiters from this industry said voice and non-voice positions, such as data analysts and technicians,  were still growing in the call center industry.

One recruiter from an established call center company said the BPO sector was expanding its services so the need for technical and non-voice personnel was increasing. The Philippines recently surpassed India as the No. 1 destination for BPO investments.

But recruiters from some industries noted there has been no letup in the brain drain.

Human resource personnel for engineering and construction companies at the expo said experienced engineers tend to leave for overseas jobs that promise higher salaries, thus creating a constant demand for specialized engineers in the country.

Among biggest groups

Wilma Corpuz, a senior human resources personnel of Taiki-sha Philippines, a company that builds electronics and manufacturing factories, said the firm is in need of 30 licensed engineers. Another company at the expo is on the lookout for 40 mechanical, electrical and geodetic engineers.

The brain drain has become such a problem for the engineering industry that some employers refuse to spend money training applicants who have no wish to stay in the Philippines for long.

Engineers are among  the biggest groups of science and technology professionals who migrate for work abroad, according to a recent study by the Department of Science and Technology.