MORE than 20,000 jobs will be up for grabs during the overseas job fair on Sunday at the Social Hall of Cebu Provincial Capitol.
Thirty-one recruitment agencies will post job vacancies in 20 locations all over the world, including the Middle East, Japan and Singapore.
Ramil Enriquez, a former jeepney driver who is unemployed, is among the job aspirants.
“Manginabuhi intawn ko. Pagbaligya sa akong jeep, wa nakoy laing pangita. Di sad ko magsalig sa akong anak nga tua sa Abu Dhabi kay naa na man siyay iyahang pamilya (I need to make a living.
When my jeepney was sold, I was not earning anything. I will not rely on the support of my daughter who is in Abu Dhabi because she too has her own family),” said Enriquez.
He said every time he applies for a job, he would always be turned down because he did not graduate from college.
He recalled being told that he wasn’t even fit to become a janitor.
“Di nako mahadlok sa gubot sa gawas sama niadtong gubat sa Libya. Lig-on ko, ug kahibaw kong mao ni ang solusyon sa akong problema (I am not afraid of war like that in Libya. I should be strong. I
know this is the solution to my problem),” he said.
Dr. Mathea Baguia, head of the Public Employment and Services Office (PESO) of Cebu Provincial Capitol, said the overseas job fair in partnership with the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency is one of the six job fairs they are planning to conduct this year.
“This is to address the increasing unemployment rate in the province,” said Baguia.
Walk-in applicants may bring the needed documents such as biodata, transcript of records, certificate of employment and ID pictures, among others, said Julius Chua of the PESO office.
Chua said those who pre-registered from May 4 onwards will be given priority.
Most job positions are in the hospitality industry, engineering and general services. /UP Cebu Intern Juli Ann M. Sibi