BACOLOD CITY – The city government here will implement a reskilling revolution to meet the demands of the local employment market after only a small portion of the openings are filled during job fairs.
Data as of Wednesday showed that of the total 57,300 job openings, only 8,600 were filled during the 15 employment fairs conducted by the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in the past year.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said his administration wants to “ensure that all job openings are filled through a reskilling revolution.”
“We need to catch up quick. We need to close the skills gap,” Benitez said as the PESO is slated to hold another job fair at SM City Bacolod on July 24-25, which has more than 11,000 vacancies for both local and overseas employment.
The mayor said most of the unfilled positions were those in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, which indicates that the applicants lack the skill set for BPO jobs.
“We have been closely working with higher education institutions and local industries to identify what skill set is needed in the local job market so our schools produce graduates with the required skill set,” he added.
Benitez said the city government would strengthen linkage with higher education, and technical and vocational education institutions, as well as with industry associations, to craft workforce development plans to support various industries, particularly the information technology-business process management industry.
“We need to rethink the direction of Bacolod City College and refocus its programs towards reskilling and upskilling,” he said.
Benitez also said the city government would launch the OJT (On-the-Job Training) PH and Resumé PH in partnership with colleges to ensure enrolment-to employment for students.
“These are web-based platforms to facilitate internship, job matching, and job placement. This would help graduating students and job seekers,” he added. (PNA)
