As of April 2021, more than 4.14 million Filipinos are jobless – a bleak figure spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Even if we see that vaccines are starting to roll out, it will still take more than a year or 1.5 years to reach the heard immunity with the rate that it is going and therefore, even if we try to look for jobs, Filipinos are still hampered because we cannot reopen our markets,” said Philip Gioca, JobStreet Philippines country manager.
Despite the discouraging job landscape, employment website JobStreet said more than 73,000 jobs are currently available on its platform.
In a press briefing on Monday, July 19, JobStreet announced its latest initiative to help Filipino job seekers: Job to Cart.
Starting Monday, July 26, and lasting until Saturday, July 31, Job to Cart is an online event that aims to make job hunting as effortless as online shopping.
All of the company’s job listings from around the country and oversees will be made available on the JobStreet platform during the event’s five-day run.
Day 1 will be dedicated to Luzon-based jobs, then on Day 2, available positions from Visayas-Mindanao will be added. Day 3 focuses on entry-level jobs, while Day 4 introduces overseas opportunities. Lastly, Day 5 spotlights government support and services.
More importantly, applying to these job listings is meant to be as convenient possible. Applications are submitted through easy-to-use chatbots and live chat features with participating employers.
Facebook Live sessions on these dates will also showcase job vacancies and allow participating job seekers to ask prospective employers about job requirements and expectations.
“JobStreet does understand that moving forward can be challenging, especially during this pandemic. That’s why we’d like to make things a little bit easier for our job seekers. Job seekers can actually stay at home and with just a few clicks, searching for a job can feel like online shopping,” said Ryan Tordesillas, JobStreet senior sales manager for the SME segment.
While on the hunt, potential employees should be alert to the trends affecting the job landscape, said Gioca as he highlighted key trends applicable to the Philippine job market from JobStreet’s recent Decoding Global Talent Survey.
These trends included the jobs most vulnerable to automation. The survey revealed the most high-risk jobs are in Customer Service, Service Sector, Administration and Secretariat, and Arts and Creative Work. JobStreet recommended that companies should plan to expand the skills sets of workers in these roles.
At the same time, employees in lower risk jobs should not be complacent. Management, Engineering and Technical, Science and Research, Law, Health and Medicine, Social Care, IT and Technology, and Digitalization and Automation jobs may not be as susceptible to automation, yet the report still suggested that workers be constantly trained to stay relevant due to fast-paced changes in every industry.
The daunting prospect of upskilling will not be a problem for most Filipinos. To ensure their job security amidst the pandemic, the survey showed that 77% of Filipino employees were willing to be retrained for a different job as needed. Blue collar workers were even more willing as 82 percent of them were prepared to be retrained to stay relevant.
“Our landscape has changed, especially when it comes to work,” Gioca observed. “It’s still going to be a long haul for us and still challenging. And that’s why, all of these things we are doing, to find ways to help jobless Filipinos find hope and meaning in their lives in these pandemic times.”
To pre-register for Job to Cart, job seekers can go to http://jobstreet.com.ph/vcf-21.
