DOLE upgrading job portal

While it has done a good job of helping match job vacancies with jobseekers, the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE's) Phil-Jobnet is due for some upgrades. DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said they want Phil-Jobnet to be a data warehouse of available labor market information and to serve customers faster and better. “The improved version of the Phil-Jobnet shall be presented at the 11th National PESO (Public Employment Service Office) Congress slated in Davao City from 5 to 7 October 2011, where Vice President Jejomar Binay is expected to address," she said. In the last week of September, the Phil-Jobnet posted a record of sorts when 108,377 available jobs were registered on it. Baldoz said the 108,377 available jobs on Phil-Jobnet (http://phil-job.net) as of September 26 had surpassed previous levels. “This is a record for the government’s Internet-based job skills matching facility. It demonstrates that the DOLE-run system is delivering on its avowed service to shorten job search and facilitate better job and skills matching for Filipino human resources and employers," she said. September's record surpassed the 102,930 job vacancies recorded last May 1, when the country marked Labor Day. Call center jobs Openings for call center agents topped the list with 20,026 vacancies, followed by customer service assistants (4,025), sales clerks (3,618), domestic helpers (2,997), laborers (2,386), carpenters (1,937), general electricians (1,778), heavy equipment operators (1,778), production workers/factory workers (1,707), and service crew (1,615). Following were real estate salespersons (1,500), merchandisers (1,352), promo salespersons (1,144), clerk for government (1,138), pipe fitters (1,040), production machine operators (1,011), staff nurses (898), street sweepers (881), cashiers (817), salesmen (807), data encoders (792), general pharmacists (721), forklift operators (721), and plumbers (659). There are also 7,719 skills-for-hire in a wide variety of skills qualifications available to interested employers. Baldoz lauded employers for continuing to post vacancies in the system. “The Phil-Jobnet is an important tool in our labor market information delivery system. It contributes to our effort of bringing down to the grassroots free and valuable information on jobs available in the market," she said. — TJD, GMA News