Push Admin

Hundreds troop to DMW job fair offering work in Japan

Article (news)

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

ORTIGAS – Hundreds of applicants lined up at the job fair organized by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and Embassy of Japan at a mall in Ortigas on Thursday. Ten licensed recruitment agencies participated in the fair with 25,000 job opportunities in agriculture, construction, care worker, hospitality, food processing and more. &quot;Unang una yung sweldo mas mataas dito at sa ibang lugar sa Middle East so nagiging option nila. Pangalawa, sabi nila mas komportable yung pamumuhay nila. Pangatlo yung community feeling. So hindi nahihirapan yung ating kababayan magadjust. As to the labor welfare concerns, hindi ganun karami,&quot; DMW Undersecretary for Policy and Cooperation Patricia Yvonne Caunan told reporters. <div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/6/5/japan-s-birth-rate-critical-as-it-hits-record-low-1552" id="isPasted">Japan&#x27;s birth rate &#x27;critical&#x27; as it hits record low</a> </div>(First, the salary there is higher than here and other countries in the Middle East so it becomes a viable option. Second, Filipinos there say their lives are more comfortable. Third, there&#x27;s a community feeling. So our fellow Filipinos there don&#x27;t have difficulty adjusting. As to the labor welfare concerns, there aren&#x27;t that much.) Some job seekers were already waiting as early as 3 a.m. or even before mall hours, just so they could be first in line for the event. Applicants varied from fresh graduates to senior citizens looking for an opportunity to work in the East Asian nation. Carl Andrew Nera says he usually has trouble finding jobs in the Philippines, especially those that are accessible to persons with disabilities. <div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/7/29/japanese-firms-looking-to-hire-1-400-workers-in-batangas-fpip-1846" id="isPasted">Japanese firms looking to hire 1,400 workers in Batangas: FPIP</a></div> The 25-year-old said he wants to work in Japan, which he believes is more accessible and has vast opportunities in information technology. &quot;Mas accepted po ang ano. Mas makaka-commute ka mag-isa. Mas nakakaikot ka mag-isa. Mas adaptable yung paligid mo. Very built in para sa&#x27;yo, para sa PWD. Maganda po doon. Yung infrastructure pwede po sa amin. Mas accommodating po para sa amin,&quot; Nera shared. (They&#x27;re more accepting there. It&#x27;s easier to commute there alone. You can go around there alone. It&#x27;s a more adaptable environment. It&#x27;s very built in for PWD. It&#x27;s nice there. The infrastructure there includes us. It&#x27;s more accommodating for us.) Roland Esmeria wants to go back to Japan, after working there for 10 years, so he can provide for his family. The 62-year-old says he is looking for jobs as a construction worker or driver. &quot;Isipin mo from 1990 to 2000 wala akong uwian. Yung trabaho ko doon mahirap pero kinakaya, kakayanin kasi deserving yung sahod. Di deserve sa pamilya ko yung sahod dito kaya I go back nalang,&quot; he said. (Imagine from 1990 to 2000, I couldn&#x27;t go home. My job there is difficult but I can manage, I endured because the salary can compensate. If I work here, the salary does not compensate for my family&#x27;s expenses  so I have to go back.) Romelyn Francisco, meanwhile, said she wants to help provide for her family right after graduating from college. <div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/17/us-japan-condemn-china-s-repeated-dangerous-aggressive-actions-vs-ph-2352" id="isPasted">US, Japan condemn China’s ‘repeated dangerous, aggressive actions’ vs PH</a> </div>&quot;Panganay po ako and gusto ko po mabigyan ng magandang buhay yung pamilya ko. Sana po madala ko sila sa Japan. Second po andun po boyfriend ko doon po siya nakatira. Pangarap po namin makawork po kami together,&quot; Romelyn Francisco said. (I&#x27;m the eldest in my family and I want to give them a good life. I also want to bring them to Japan. My boyfriend also lives there, we want to work together.) The 22-year-old fresh graduate said she applied for jobs in the hotel industry. However, she was told to undergo training for the Japanese language. Recruiters say knowledge of the language is not required for all jobs, but some employers deem this necessary. &quot;With our clients if you are a good English speaker wala pong problem. And if you have Nihongo speaking skills, edge niyo po yun. Yung ibang clients namin may free Nihongo language training,&quot; Bernie Sotto of HRD Employment Consultants and Multi-Services Inc. said. (With our clients, if you are a good English speaker, there&#x27;s no problem. And if you have Nihongo speaking skills, that&#x27;s your edge. Our other clients offer free Nihongo language training.) She added, they encourage fresh graduates to gain some experience first. However, based on their experience, they have not deployed workers over 50 years old. &quot;Wala po kaming age limit as long as complete requirements po. Pero if ever wala pa silang requirements pinapaundergo namin sila ng training sa Japanese language. (We don&#x27;t have an age limit as long as their requirements are complete. But if they don&#x27;t have the requirements, we need to ask them to undergo training in the Japanese language.) The first-ever country-specific job fair coincided with the Philippines-Japan Friendship Week. &quot;Unang beses tayo nagkaroon ng country exclusive na jobs fair. Hindi sila nalito no, yung talagang interesado sa Japan dumating, Kasi usually halo-halo may local, may international,&quot; Caunan explained. <div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/7/31/tourism-heat-cut-japan-rice-inventory-to-21st-century-low-1212" id="isPasted">Tourism, heat cut Japan rice inventory to 21st century low</a></div> (It&#x27;s the first time we have a country exclusive jobs fair. First with Japan. People were not confused, those who really want to go to Japan went here. Because usually, job fairs have both local and international opportunities.) &quot;It [job fair] serves as a platform for connecting talented Filipino people to jobs in Japan. It also shows the growing demand for Filipino workers in Japan. And the interest and fondness of Filipino workers to go and work in Japan,&quot; Embassy of Japan Minister for Economic Affairs Nihei Daisuke said. Following the massive turnout, the DMW will look into holding more country-specific job fairs. &quot;We’ll definitely study this if in the future we can also have for example a European exclusive jobs fair, a Singapore or a Canada exclusive jobs fair. Magandang learning experience din sa amin ito (This is a good learning experience for us),&quot; Caunan said. The DMW said there are currently 300,000 documented Filipino workers in Japan.Jobseekers can still look for opportunities on the DMW official website or official social media pages of licensed recruiters.

Ten licensed recruitment agencies participated in the fair with 25,000 job opportunities in agriculture, construction, care worker, hospitality, food processing and more.

Ten licensed recruitment agencies participated in the fair with 25,000 job opportunities in agriculture, construction, care worker, hospitality, food processing and more.