Online job search portal JobStreet recently shared that the most popular job opportunities for fresh graduates are in the education sector, which represents 21% of the vacancies waiting to be filled. Many of the posts are for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL).
The next biggest job contributor is the customer service or business process outsourcing (BPO) industry at 14%, followed by clerical or administrative support at 9%; general work at 7%, which includes housekeeping, driving, and dispatch; and healthcare at 7%.
Based on the monthly average total of job vacancies, many of these jobs require less than a year of experience, according to JobStreet Philippines country manager Philip Gioca. In a press release, he said: “Our new graduates must submit job applications to as many companies as possible for more chances of landing their first job.”
The job portal’s data also showed that majority of job vacancies for fresh graduates are located in the National Capital Region (34%), followed by Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) at 12%, Central Luzon at 7%, Western Visayas at 7%, and Central Visayas at 6%.
Of all job openings available for fresh grads, 3% offer work from home arrangements. This amounts to 16,000 remote jobs, including the likes of virtual assistant, online teacher, and customer service representative.
“Remote work will be here for a while,” said Mr. Gioca, “That is why investing in a conducive work from home setup also helps fresh graduates be job-ready, especially for companies that are temporarily implementing this arrangement during the pandemic.”
With millions of fresh grads joining the work force and competing for the limited career opportunities available, unemployment remains a serious problem, with jobless Filipinos at 3.44 million, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) March 2021 report. — B. H. Lacsamana