Over 4,000 Job Opportunities for Displaced Workers
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, some 2.8 million Filipino workers have been reported as affected either through their employer’s adoption of flexible work arrangements or temporary closure of business. Similarly, thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been displaced and repatriated from virus struck countries all over the world. After enduring weeks to months stranded at ports due to cancelled commercial flights, they come back to the homeland to face a more grueling challenge: finding employment during a pandemic. A welcome bit of news come to these displaced workers from the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) of the Department of Labor and Employment: at least 4,000 job openings are currently on offer to these affected workers.
FROM JOBSTART TRAINEE TO ATTORNEY AT LAW
With every door that closes, a new one opens—especially if we work hard to make it happen. 
Out of the 7,685 Bar examinees last 2019, Atty. Erna Arrida Delfin, a JobStart graduate, is one of the successful passers. Behind her success is a story of hope, rejection, and resilience.
Delfin joined the JobStart Philippines program through the Quezon City Public Employment Service Office during its pilot phase in 2014 in partnership with Asian Development Bank - ADB ADB Philippines and Embassy of Canada in the Philippines. As a fresh graduate of BS Cruise Ship Management, the JobStart became her training ground to prepare her for the world of work, specifically in the food and hospitality industry.
ATTY. CHARISH MUNGCAL: BECOMING A LAWYER FOR THE PUBLIC, THROUGH THE PUBLIC
"Public service is sometimes characterized as a special calling, one that might not reward financially, but provides intrinsic satisfaction from helping others,” said H. George Frederickson and David K. Hart in their study titled “The Public Service and the Patriotism of Benevolence” in 1985. This resonates with the experience of Atty. Charish – a challenge-seeker and hard worker in nature, proving what a true public servant should be.
Atty. Charish Mungcal, also known as “Cha”, has been working at the Department of Labor and Employment – Bureau of Local Employment since 2013. Her experience has taught her the importance of work values such as hard work, being organized, and taking the initiative to be ahead of the tasks and deadlines given to her. For seven years, she has been molded to become a better individual and government employee. She conquered obstacles that tested her skills and abilities but it did not stop her to seek for greater challenges.
Stepping stone to one’s dreams
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Michael Gravador, 24 years old, has a Bachelor’s degreein Hospitality Management in Negros Oriental State University, Dumaguete City.
He is from Santa Catalina, a municipality in Negros Oriental which is 98 km away or about 3 hours from Dumaguete City.
He is currently undergoing his internship as a food and beverage attendant at Casablanca Restaurant and Delicatessen in Dumaguete. He is renting a small accommodation in Dumaguete for the training.
Dave Ibañez: JobStart’s Most Outstanding Awardee
Dave Ibañez, 20 years old, studied until his first year in college. .jpg)
His course was Bachelors in Information Technology and is currently living in Dumaguete City.
He is a graduate of the Wave 2 of JobStart in Dumaguete and received the Most Outstanding Award given his high ratings during his technical training in Tech Synergy Dumaguete Transcription as a Medical Transcriptionist. He was absorbed by Tech Synergy and is happilyworking in the company.
Dave had to stop his schooling during thefirst semester in his first year in college because his younger sister got sick so they needed the money for her treatment. “Wala na kaming pera pangtubos kasi na ospital yung kapatid ko na babae so lahat nang pera para sa studies ko ay napunta lahat sa kanya,” he shared.
