The Department of Tourism will officially forge a partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment, through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, for the holding of the tourism job fair “Trabaho, Turismo, Asenso! National Tourism Jobs Fair” on 30 August. The fair aims to help revitalize the tourism industry’s manpower needs, which had been derailed by the pandemic.
The MOU will be signed by Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma at Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.
“We are prioritizing the provision of employment opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector in response to the severe losses in income and livelihood due to the pandemic, and the present shortage of workforce in the tourism industry,” said Frasco. “The ‘Trabaho, Turismo, Asenso Job Fair’ will help our fellow Filipinos find jobs while helping the accommodation and services sector address workforce shortages, resulting in the continued recovery of the tourism industry as a whole.”
The event will be launched during the Hotels Supplier Show on 22-24 September at the SMX Convention Center Manila, Mall of Asia Complex. The fair will be a multi-month campaign and will conclude in May 2023 to coincide with the 50th founding anniversary of the DOT. Global-Link MP, the organizer of the Hotels Supplier Show, offered 50 free booths for the job fair program. Among the initial job fair locations are Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao.
The DOT, through its regional offices, will be coordinating with concerned DOLE regional/field offices and Public Employment Service Offices in local government units for the conduct of the job fairs; collect relevant job posting information from participating establishments; ensure the credibility of all participating employers; and monitor the submission of job fair reportorial requirements by participating establishments.
The DOLE, for its part, will provide appropriate assistance on the conduct of DOT-sponsored job fairs; ensure the monitoring and supervision of all job fairs sponsored by the DOT as organized by concerned PESOs pursuant to applicable DOLE guidelines; and screen the requirements of all participating entities, among others.
Aside from employment opportunities within the country, Frasco also recently announced that overseas hospitality career opportunities will be made available to Filipinos in a separate job fair, in coordination with the Department of Migrant Workers and DOLE. Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn had sought Frasco’s assistance for possible tourism employment opportunities for Filipinos in Thailand during the two ministers’ bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the recently concluded APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok.
“Providing tourism employment opportunities in the Philippines and abroad is important because this will help the thousands of Filipino workers and their families who were displaced or repatriated because of the pandemic,” said Frasco. “For new graduates and others seeking a career in tourism, this will also open new doors for economic prosperity. Overall, the goal is to balance the need for services of the accommodation sector with the need for employment of tourism workers, to lend stability to the tourism industry.”