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Only 1 of 10 local workers hired in 1Q
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Posted on May 22 2005
Only one in 10 of resident workers who had registered with the Division of Employment Services and Training were hired in the first quarter of 2005.
DES statistics showed that a total of 858 workers were listed with the government’s job placement unit from January to March 2005. This figure includes 597 workers who had been in the agency’s system prior to 2005.
Although the division made hundreds of referrals, only 91 of the total registered workers found jobs, while 178 were categorized as inactive.
Of the workers, 74 percent of the applicants voluntarily sought the division’s assistance, while another 25 percent were food stamp recipients who registered with DEST to fulfill the requirements of the Nutrition Assistance Program. The remaining 1 percent was either complying with court orders or referred by the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.
In an interview, DEST director Alfred Pangelinan attributed the low job placement rate to various factors, mostly concerning the workers themselves.
Pangelinan said some of the workers only registered to satisfy NAP requirements. “They’re not really interested in getting a job; all they want is to be able to keep receiving food stamps,” he said.
DEST data indicated that over 80 percent of those who got hired were walk-in applicants. Meanwhile, only 13 of the 212 NAP applicants were hired and 101 were classified as inactive.
He also said that some workers, in their applications, provided contact numbers that were not theirs, leaving the division without means to reach them for job referral.
Others do not show up at job interviews, while those who do lack the training to present their skills to potential employers, he added.
“The law provides preferential treatment for resident workers and it’s our goal to enforce this. But we can only do so much. When we refer a worker and they don’t show up for interviews, it hurts the employers’ confidence in our ability to put good applicants to a job,” Pangelinanan said.
