More than 4,000 vacant overseas positions were laid out before Filipino jobseekers when the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) staged its Mega Job Fair at Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas, Quezon City, timed to coincide with the country’s Independence Day commemoration.
The openings spanned three regions — Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and the Americas — and were drawn from 13 licensed recruitment agencies that partnered with the agency for the event. Roles on offer covered healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality and housekeeping, skilled trades, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work, alongside administrative posts.
A total of 719 Filipinos turned up to explore the listings, with the DMW framing the fair as a guarantee that every opportunity placed in front of applicants was safe, legal, and decent.
DMW Officer-in-Charge Bernard P. Olalia tied the day’s symbolism to the choices facing the crowd. “Sa araw na ito, ito ang araw ng paglaya o kalayaan. Binibigyan namin kayo ng kalayaan na pumili ng inyong kinabukasan. Isang magandang kinabukasan na nakasalalay sa inyo. Nasa likod ninyo ang pamahalaan, kasama na po ang Department of Migrant Workers,” he told them.
Repatriated overseas Filipino workers held a prominent place at the fair through the Committee on Alternative Labor Market Interventions (CALMI). The program runs as a DMW initiative carried out with other government bodies and partner recruitment agencies, built to support migrant workers displaced by war or crisis. It does so through skills assessment, job matching, and quick placement into positions abroad.
Seven applicants signed up under CALMI to tap into job matching across the recruitment agency network. One of them, Alexander Roja, returned from Qatar and learned of the activity through news coverage. “Nakita ko po sa balita itong activity ng DMW. At least makikita ko dito ang job matching; malaking bagay po iyon, at makakapamili ka kung anong job at anong bansa ang available,” he said.
