MANILA – Business groups in the Philippines have signed a new initiative aimed at creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs for Filipinos.

The Private Sector Advisory Council, Jobstreet, SM Foundation Inc. and other leading companies have come together to sign the “Trabaho Para sa Bayan: J.O.B.S (Job Opportunities Building Skills) initiative.

For Employers Confederation of the Philippines Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr, the initiative can help people see which companies in the country are in need of workers and what specific skills they are looking for.

Representatives of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. were also present at the event to sign the initiative.

Providing new job opportunities

One of the key signatories of the initiative is online jobs platform JobStreet Philippines. The company’s managing director, Dannah Majarocon, discussed how the partnership between corporations and other business groups can help improve the labour market in the country.

“The primary objective of this campaign is to generate quality jobs for Filipinos and address the job-skills mismatch. This is very important to support nation-building in upskilling and job matching,” she said.

One of the primary goals of the initiative is to attract more people to the multiple job fairs that are planned for this year. These events are scheduled to take place at different SM malls across the country.

Hundreds of thousands of job postings are currently available on Jobstreet. These vacancies span multiple areas such as construction, health care, IT-business process management, and manufacturing.

Every company that signed the initiative has agreed to use Jobstreet’s online platform to promote vacancies within their organisation.

For its part, the SM Foundation hopes that the partnership will allow Filipinos to find more job opportunities.

“With today’s gathering of giants of industries, big associations and government leaders, we hope to contribute to providing employment opportunities to more of our fellow Filipinos,” Deborah Sy, executive director of the SM Foundation, said.

Government support for Filipino workers

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr paid tribute to the country’s “noble and diligent workers” during his Labour Day speech. In his address, he shared his dream of a future filled with opportunities, where each Filipino worker is valued and empowered.

“On this special day, we recognise the invaluable contributions of our hardworking men and women whose grit and resilience have paved the way for our national development,” Marcos said.

“We also pay homage to all the people who raised their voices in the pursuit of social justice, championing the rights of workers and ensuring that their efforts are duly valued and compensated.”

Marcos also promised the support of his administration to help working class Filipinos and uphold the ideals of fairness, dignity, and equity.

“We will usher in an era of greater prosperity where opportunities abound, creating a society where every worker is cherished, respected, and empowered to thrive,” Marcos said.

The employment rate in the country is at 96.1% as of March 2024, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. This is slightly higher than the 95.3% recorded during the same month last year but lower than the 96.5% from February 2024.