Thousands of job opportunities were made available by government and private firms to beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) during the ‘Trabaho sa Bagong Pilipinas para sa 4Ps’ job fair held at the Governor Andres B. Bernos Gymnasium in Abra on Thursday (March 6).
The job fair, aimed at providing employment opportunities to 4Ps members, offered a total of 10,019 overseas job vacancies and 3,543 local jobs for qualified applicants from various municipalities of Abra province.
Undersecretary Denise Florence Bernos-Bragas of the DSWD\’s Regulatory Services and Institutional Development Group (RSIDG) said the ‘Trabaho Para sa Bagong Pilipinas’ is a national program under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., with the DSWD serving as the lead agency in assisting 4Ps beneficiaries.
“As we have always emphasized, 4Ps is not a dole-out program—it is an opportunity that comes with responsibilities and obligations. This initiative aims to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, empowering beneficiaries to achieve self-sufficiency and actively contribute to nation-building” Undersecretary Bernos-Bragas said in the province’s dialect as she addressed her fellow Ilocanos.
Participating government agencies include the Philippine Army, recruiting 800 officer candidates and 2,327 candidate soldiers; and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) with five vacant positions.
Private companies that also provided local employment opportunities to 4Ps household beneficiaries include AXA Philippines; Cebuana Lhuillier; Don Philip Marketing Corporation; Napintas Distribution, Inc.; SM Supermarket-La Union and Baguio; Good Day Recruitment, Inc.; ADTEMPCO; Alorica; Universal Corporation; Mike\’s Superstore; Asia Philippines Foundation, Inc.; Gallopvision Services, Inc.; and Palawan Group of Companies.
These companies offered positions such as field marketing associate; accounting officers; customer service representatives; cashiers; baggers; human resource assistant; branch assistant; and service driver.
Several recruitment agencies such as Placewell International Services Corporation; CNT International Manpower Agency, Inc.; Ascend International Services, Inc.; 1st Northern International Placement, Inc.; and Agility International Manpower Solution, Inc. also offered international job placements, catering to both skilled workers and professionals.
Overseas vacancies included positions such as nurse, engineer, carpenter, wall and floor tiler, cabinet maker, teacher, hairdresser, and scaffolder.
The DSWD also provided financial assistance to some 3,500 participating 4Ps beneficiaries, as well as employment assistance to those individuals hired on the spot and assessed as qualified for the Employment Facilitation Track of the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
“You will each receive Php3,000. Additionally, if you participate in the job fair, which we hope will lead to your employment, DSWD will also provide employment assistance through the SLP,” Undersecretary Bernos-Bragas told the jobseekers in Ilocano.
The Trabaho sa Bagong Pilipinas job fair is organized by the DSWD, in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and other key agencies, to assist 4Ps beneficiaries to acquire employment opportunities and other services necessary for pre-employment processing. (YADP)