LABOR DAY JOBAPALOOZA 2009 - A resounding success!

Close to 30,000 jobseekers flocked the SMX Convention Center on Labor day to join the biggest Job fair the country has ever seen.  Spearheaded by the Department of Labor of employment, this Jobapalooza is also the collaboration of many heads namely the DOLE, the main sponsors and the employers themselves. Partnering with DOLE is Jobstreet.com which is the no. 1 jobsite in the country which has more than 6 million registered jobseekers which includes me. Well I registered so that I may know how to register since we took care of the registration needs of the event since the mobile caravan was launched.

 

Mayday, Mayday...7557 got hired today

Aside from Jobstreet.com  one of the major sponsors of the event was Globe Telecoms, Banco De Oro and the SM Group of companies, the City or Manila and Pasay, the Philippine Online Chronicles, Philjob.net and the STI Education Services Group which took care of the registration. STI provided 50 computers for the event plus manpower to help on the registration. As I wrote in this blog even before the event STI has already helped in the pre - registration by way of the STI Mobile Caravan.

 

STI Student Volunteers Getting Ready

Prior to the event, pre registered jobseekers totaled more than 20,000 and a lot of them got their final interviews as 7557 jobseekers were employed on labor day. There were 330 employers that joined the Jobapalooza and the long lines of people waiting for their turn to make it inside and submit their resumes made the day also fulfilling for employers who were ready to get new employees. Leading the way were call centers, BPOs and other big companies with multi businesses like SM.

 

The Registration Scene

The registration of the participants was quite a tideous task but I am glad that our STI volunteers pulled through.  Its no joke sitting there for hours and receiving registration slips and helping others register specially when you entertain 20,000 people.  The combined team of STI Headquarters, STI College Global City and STI College Taft plus some other volunteers from STI College Cubao proved to be a great mix of STIers working for a worthy cause. If there is one thing they learned today, its that applying for a job is no joke.

The Internet Kiosk, Computers by STI, Internet by Globe

At around 10:30 AM Jobstreet Country Manager Grace Colet was alarmed that the number of people who flocked the SMX Convention Center was twice than what was expected. Crowd control seems to be the problem now and how to manage the flow of people coming in and going out. Grace pulled togehter her men, together with some people form DOLE and also some from our team to help out in making sure that the people are line up correctly so that no more problems on getting out of line will be met. When the coast cleared up at around 5:45 pm when the lines were cut and the employers already tired of a whole day’s work has already closed shop, the job fair finally ended.  

My congratulations to the small group of friends that has spent countless hours in making sure that we deliver what we promised, from DOLE Lites Villoria, Globe’s  Nonie Busuego, Manolo Nava and Ryan Fernandez, BDO’s Mau Laus and Leah Lau, Jobstreet’s Lindsay Querubin and my partner who pieced everything up Karen La Rosa, congratulations everyone for a JOBapalooza well done. My hat goes off to jobstreet for their team that never got tired in making sure that the everyone got entertained.  I was also moved by Jobstreet’s Grace Colet who thanked all our STI students one by one for their help and participation. Thanks Grace and Lindsay.  

Zerina, Rynee, RJ, Geann, Rezyl with Aga

After a full day of work to help people get work, it was time to unwind. I was lucky I was accompanied by my 5 galpals, Zerina,Rynee, RJ, Ge-ann and Rezyl. It made working all the more light and enjoyable. We are lucky that Globe sponsored a concert that featured Hajji Alejandro, Rachel Ann Go, Rivermaya and Mr. Pure Energy himself Gary Valenciano.  This worthwhile endeavor is something that we will talk about in months to come. Now let’s prepare for JOBapalooza 2010!

Jobapalooza in Malabon City

A sight to behold, the Malabon City Hall

Maunlad na Malabon..Kaya naTIn iTO! Thus is the battle cry of the City of Malabon that gathered more than 200 applicants for the JOBAPALOOZA 2009 job fair.  This is my first time to see the City Hall of Malabon and my first impression is that I thought I was in a Hotel. The City Hall is so neat, clean and has a bubble elevator that has a transparent window in which you can see part of the City.  The proceedings were very orderly since City Officials were are hand to greet us and see to it that their constituents are  ready to face the challenges by providing seats, numbers and procedures on how they can pre register.

The Pogi Conquers Malabon City

We were very lucky because Malabon City Mayor , the Honorable Canuto “Tito” Oreta  was at hand to oversee the proceedings.  The Mayor received us at his office, I was with Jobapalooza “punong abala” LItes VIloria who is form DOLE and my former staff Kim de Leon who is now with STI College Caloocan.

Courtesy call with Mayor Tito Oreta

The Mayor said that he believes that there are many jobs available unfortunately a lot of Filipinos lack the necessary qualifications to be able to get the jobs that they like. The Mayor also discussed his projects in the City that made his constituents land jobs and is happy that the DOLE is spearheading this project to be able to give our displaced and disgraced countrymen an opportunity to be able to know the latest trends in job hunting and more importantly land a job.

 Fun time with Councilor Len Oreta

Funny thing though, one of the councilors, Councilor Len Oreta,  apparently is a schoolmate and even jokingly said that I was a funny guy in College and how the hell would people take me seriously with our projects.  We just laughed and talked about a lot of things with regards to the Ateneo and the City of Malabon. Len is one of the sons of former Senator and now Congesswoman Tessie Aquino-Oreta. 

Inside the STI Mobile school

There were many people in the City Hall and we hope that by bringing the registration to the jobseekers of Malabon City we hope we helped them in their first step to get jobs.

 Pang dyaryo

Jobapalooza in Pasay: Veni, Vidi, Vici

Job Fair Venue

They came, They Saw, they conquered! The City of Pasay made sure that their constituents would not be denied as their weekly job fair attracted droves of jobseekers hoping to land jobs that would help them go through our current financial crisis. Aside from the usual employers that the residents of Barangay 183 zone 20 in Villamor Pasay City have, they were in for a bonus as the STI Mobile Caravan of Jobapalooza 2009 was there to help them out in applying for jobs.

Barangay Chairman Cesar Toledanes

The day started with the local officials led by Barangay Chairman Cesar Toledanes leading his people to the job fair by explaining to his constituents the various companies that were looking for staff positions and offering other jobs. The SM Mall of Asia was there together with the Marriot group of hotels that will be building hotels in Pasay City. The City of Pasay has a requirement that the employees that all businesses in their area employ should come from Pasay City. The minimum is 60 % of Pasay City residents. That way their constituents are preferred over job seekers from other areas.

Your handsomeness explaining the proceedings

By the time it was time to start the Barangay Hall was literally filled up to the rafters and the response of the jobseekers was very overwhelming. At 9:00 am it was time to start the first leg of the Jobapalooza mobile caravan. The only problem we encountered was that a lot of the job seekers are not that computer literate and had no emails. I helped more than 20 job seekers create their accounts and unfortunately it took some of them 20 minutes to create an account that can be normally done in 2 minutes.

Jobseekers registering and waiting for their turn

The residents of the City of Pasay are so lucky that their city government is so proactive in creating job opportunities for their constituents. So if you are looking for a place to stay, go to Pasay and they will assure you of the best services a city can do and help you land a job also.

Jobseekers applying online

The Jobapalooza is an event initiated by the Department of Labor and Employment and in partnership with Globe Telecoms, SM Malls, Banco de Oro, Jobstreet.com, Philjobnet, Philippine Online Chronicles and the STI Education Services Group.

Jobapalooza 2009-STI Mobile Caravan Launch

The City of Manila, long known as the originator of many historical events in the country was once again the witness to an important event that will aid the biggest job fair in the country - the launch of the STI Mobile Caravan. Mayor Alfredo S. Lim together with all the employees of the Manila City Hall served notice of the coming of the STI Mobile Caravan which is one of the instruments that will be used to increase registrants for the Tayo Na! Trabaho Na JOBAPALOOZA which will be held at the SMX Convention Centre on May 1, 2009.

Director Liza Makinano of DOLE and yours truly

The launch signifies the seriousness of the project which seeks to help many Filipinos find jobs and hopefully get employed. The STI Education Services Group, an institution that is true to its promise of helping its graduates land jobs has extended its helping hand to various cities and municipalities in the country as their STI Mobile School will be visiting selected sites for would be employers to seek out employment. 

Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim

Aside from the STI Mobile School, jobseekers can also go to any STI campus to register, that way Filipinos will have all the resources needed to be able to land a job. I was quite excited to see how the City of Manila start their week as all their employees lined up for their weekly flag ceremony and some announcements which was made by the City Budget’s office. 

DOLE Undersecretary Minda Padilla

After that I was tasked to be the Master of ceremonies for the short program to launch the Mobile caravan together with Director Liza Makinano of the Institute of Labor Studies of the Department of Labor and Employment. Guests included the Major Sponsors of the event namely our friends from Jobstreet.com and Banco de Oro. Our STI team was also there led by our Executive Vice President and COO Sir Peter Fernandez with my boss Elbert de Guzman.  Guest speakers were DOLE Undersecretary Minda Padilla who happens to be the Chairperson of the 2009 Labor Day Committee and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines Assistant Secretary General Alex Aguilar.

TUCP Assistant Secretary General Alex Aguilar

After the speeches our VP for Communications Elbert de Guzman led the walk through demonstration of the bus by inviting Mayor Fred Lim and DOLE Undersecretary Minda Padilla. The rest of the media men, guests and sponsors followed suit as they witnessed what the STI Mobile School can do.

STI VP for Communications Elbert de Guzman

with Mayor Fred Lim

The Mayor was impressed with the STI Mobile school and congratulated Team STI for a job well done as he expressed confidence in this instrument for his constituents in Manila to get jobs. Aside from the STI schools in Manila and nearby cities, the STI Mobile school will provide jobseekers the tool to register with jobstreet since they it will be visiting the six districts of the City of Manila.

The City of Manila's youth sector led by Niño dela Cruz brought in some graduates to register right away. If you want to be a part of the jobapalooza just click this LINK to register. Stay tuned for other developments regarding the STI Mobile Caravan.

The Pasay City Government

The beauty of having an event that has different sponsors is that we get to go to different places and meet different people. Last week I got to meet people from the Manila City Hall. After years of seeing the establishment I finally got to go inside and had a meeting with them since they are also sponsors of the Jobapalooza. Another place that caught my eye is the Pasay City Hall which is a bit surprising since we met with the Chief of Staff of the Mayor and other committee members of the event.

The Pasay City Government's involvement will surely make the Jobapalooza simply more exciting and all the more good since they said that their involvement is simply making sure that their constituents will hopefully land jobs and help out in the logistics of the event. Here's to a fine partnership.

Jobapalooza meeting @ SMX

If you were to ask me, it was great meeting new people from different companies and working with them. The fun part starts when you have a lunch meeting out of the office. We had a meeting at Aling Tonya's Restaurant just across the SMX Convention Center to iron out things for the event. It was sort of a coordination meeting of sponsors for the event. Lites Viloria of DOLE was there together with Maureen Laus and Leah Lao of Banco de Oro. Lindsay Querubin and Monette Gallego of Jobstreet came together with the hosts for the lunch, our friends from Globe Telecoms - Nonie Busuego, Manolo Nava and Nats Alcantara.



One thing funny was that Lites, Mau, Leah and I were all early for the lunch meeting while Manolo and Lindsay were quite stuck with the traffice. The thee girls took the liberty to order everything under the sun which was an advantage for me since I know that gurls eat less than guys so there will be more for me hahaha. The good thing was that we ordered ahead since the kitchen had a hart time cooking and the food took a long time before it was finally served.



Much to my surprise the three lovely girls and I had something in common - we all had big appetites! We were all laughing since everything that was placed in front of us were smothered while the other table ate slowly and the girls as I said ate like real girls. Hahaha. The lunch was a perfect way to loosen up, bond and get to know the others involved in the project. After lunch we had a short meeting and went on to SMX with the other people involved in the project to handle our usual business. Well that's another story.

JOBAPALOOZA Press Conference

Spearheaded by the Department of Labor and Employment, a Press Conference was held to launch DOLE's summer buster this year to help unemployed filipinos get back on track by applying for various Jobs on May 1, 2009. The event is called JOBAPALOOZA 2009 and hopefully like the much talked about Luvapalooza, it will attract a lot of would be employees so that the problem of unemployment may be addressed in its own small way. Giving a boost are sponsors that are very instrumental in making the event a success namely Globe, Banco de Oro and SM, Jobstreet.com, Philippine online Chronicles and STI.

In this picture, veteran news reporter Sandra Aguinaldo of GMA-7's kapuso network interviews DOLE Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz on what the Jobapalooza is all about.  The event will be staged at the SMX Convention Center and after the whole day of looking for work, jobseekers are in for a treat since Globe will sponsor a concert for everyone with no less than Bamboo as its main attraction for their concert.  

The STI Education Services on the other hand will be the primary mover of registrations.  The whole STI network of schools can be a place where people nationwide can go to and register so that their applications can be pre-screened and job matching can be done. At the same time, the jobstreet data base will have each registrant's resume.  Another way to registrer is through the Mobile Caravan which will visit six districts in the city of Manila.  Applicants can register through the mobile school since 24 computers can be used simultaneously to register.

For sure the event will be a success since all sectors are using all their resources to make sure that our beloved countrymen can apply and hopefully be hired on the spot come job fair day. Job Street for its part has guaranteed at least 100 employers present on that day while the DOLE has made the assurance that there will be 200 employers on that day and at least 600 applicants will be hired on the spot! Other giant companies helping out this very worthwile event is Globe Telecoms, Banco de Oro and SM, Philippine Online Chronicles and the City of Manila.

I was there as guest speaker of the event. I mean I spoke to my boss that we will be signing the MOA with DOLE for the event. Stay tuned for more kwentros about the Jobapalooza 2009.

JOBAPALOOZA

Every February 14, the Philippines tries to break an existing world record that gathers lovers to the most number of people kissing at the same time. That events is now known as LOVAPALOOZA which has attracted quite a number of Filipinos and is now a yearly event that makes Manila the Mecca of kiss and tell lovers.

Coming from that premise the Department of Labor and Employment is embarking on a similar idea of bringing together jobless filipinos nationwide and using the SMX Convention center as the venue for the biggest job fair ever. WIth that in mind it is just very apt to call the event JOBAPALOOZA! In these pictures are people from Jobstreet, Globe, DOLE and yours truly at the Department of Labor Office which is ironing out the details of the event.

Funny thing though was that I played around with the conference microphone system which we usually see during senate inquiries. When the people from Globe, Jobstreeet and DOLE were left with me in another meeting I played around with my responses to them.

Stay tuned more details coming in the next few days about this wonderful event.