ZAMBOANGA CITY, July 25, 2022 – A special job fair for persons with disabilities (PWDs) was held last July 21, 2022 at the 4th Floor Function Hall of a local mall in Zamboanga City.

Department of Labor and Employment 9 Regional Director Atty. Roy L. Buenafe said that the first-ever job fair for PWDs was part of the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) Week which ran from July 17-23, 2022.

DOLE Zamboanga City Field Office Head Makaraya U. Adil added that the job fair was organized in partnership with the Zamboanga City Public Employment Service Office (PESO), Persons with Disability Affairs Unit-City Social Welfare Development Office (PDAU-CSWDO) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Chief Adil said 53 PWDs came to apply during the job fair where 8 participating employers offered a total of 231 job vacancies.

“Of the 53 applicants, 7 PWDs were hired on the spot,” he added.

Six other applicants were waiting for the schedule of their interview with the participating companies,” he noted.

“Maraming salamat sa opportunity na binigay sa amin na mga PWDs na makahanap ng trabaho. Thankful po ako sa chance na ma-hired on the spot dito sa Job Fair,” said PWD Joana Linyan who was hired-on-the-spot as receptionist for Koreana Look Beauty Clinic.

Other participating companies were KCC Mall de Zamboanga, Filinvest Land Inc., 3ME Manpower Services, Budgetwise Supermarket, Shop-O-Rama Group of Companies, Southwest Asian Canning Corp. and Grand Astoria Hotel.

Aside from the job fair, TESDA conducted skills demonstrations on Arts and Crafts particularly on perfume and dishwashing liquid making for PWD participants.

DOLE also set up a clients assistance desk for the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program where 14 PWDs applied for livelihood assistance.

The NRDP Week celebration is anchored on the theme “Working with Government in Achieving Equal Access to Education, Employment and Livelihood towards Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. ### With reports from DOLE ZCFO