By DANNY O. SAGUN

A JOBS fair will be held at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center gym on December 7, according to Alex Ferrer, head of the public employment service office (PESO).

He said that local and foreign companies looking for skilled workers are set to join the jobs fair.

Ferrer said that fresh engineering and architecture graduates are welcome to join the fair as some firms have been hiring new graduates who are willing to undergo training for two months like the Korean firm Hanjin Heavy Industries based in Subic.

Also in demand are blue-collar workers like welders, heavy equipment operators and hotel workers for placements here and abroad, he told the Pantongtongan Tayo radio program of the Philippine Information Agency over Radyo ng Bayan DZMQ last Tuesday.

With more firms in need of skilled workers rather than degree holders, Ferrer said that the provincial government has modified its scholarship program by shifting emphasis on the taking of technical and vocational courses for its scholars rather than degree courses of four to five years.

He noted that there is hardly any vacancy for so-called white-collar jobs even as the province could not cope with the demand for skilled or production workers by local and foreign firms.

Asked why his office does not seem to promote hiring of domestic helps, Ferrer said that such workers are vulnerable to abuse by their employers aside from problems that develop when a couple is separated due to work.

He said his office may promote seeking work in lands that have immigration programs like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States as the immigrant may have the opportunity to bring his family there. (DOS/PIA)