Acting Labor Secretary Marianito Roque on Friday said mismatches in job vacancies and qualifications of the applicants are root causes of the country's unemployment problems."We have available vacancies, but the problem is matching... We have so many job vacancies that are technical in orientation a
Acting Labor Secretary Marianito Roque on Friday said mismatches in job vacancies and qualifications of the applicants are root causes of the country's unemployment problems.

"We have available vacancies, but the problem is matching... We have so many job vacancies that are technical in orientation and the job seekers are usually college graduates," Roque told ABS-CBN's morning show, "Umagang Kay Ganda."

"There are mismatches... in terms of skills and geographical as against the applicants," Roque said. He said current statistics showed that out of 10 applicants, only three may be hired.

The labor chief said majority of college graduates looking for jobs are commerce degree-holders. These graduates usually look for jobs in the finance, banking ang marketing sectors.

But according to the government's online job search engine, www.phil-job.net, the top 10 vacancies are in the technical sector. Topping the list are vacancies for professional nurses (5,000 positions) followed by staff nurses (3,000).

The third to 9th spots are filled by vacancies for call center agents, sales clerks, customer service assistants, general carpenters, occupational therapists, construction carpenters and sales associate professionals.

Rigger, carpenter and steelman are tied in the 10th spot with 150 vacancies each.

TESDA trainings

Roque said to address the current employment situation in the country, the Department of Labor and Employment has asked the TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) to offer more trainings for job seekers.

Roque's explanation came a day after Labor Day, when thousands of job seekers flocked to employment fairs set up by the government all over the country.

More than 100,000 local and overseas job vacancies were opened to the job seekers in 16 regions, including Metro Manila, Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog (Calabarzon and Mimaropa), Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, SOCCKSARGEN and Caraga.

In Metro Manila, Roque said seven key employment generating sectors, including hotel and restaurant, health and wellness, banking, aviation, agribusiness, were involved in the job fair.