CoNIC, to head alternative job fair

Underutilization of labor is a social cost of mismatched skills and mismatched work.

With only two job fairs each year, which mainly cater to business-oriented courses, students from the other five colleges have a hard time looking for job opportunities that will fit their degrees and interests.

This academic year, the Committee on National Issues and Concerns (CoNIC) will organize an alternative job expo that will help broaden the students’ employment options and give them opportunities to explore and choose from jobs related to their degrees.

It was not a long time ago when an alternative job fair was first introduced to the University. Back then, the Office of Counseling and Career Services (OCCS) and the Center for Social Concern and Action (COSCA) spearheaded the execution of that job fair. However, given the extent of the logistics required by the project and only a period of one week to execute the activities, the alternative job fair made a lesser impact than targeted.

The low turnout of students and the inability to bring in good partner organizations that time halted the pursuit toward an annual alternative job fair.

The concern for a wider coverage of employment opportunities has again been raised and demanded by student organizations, specifically POLISCI, the official organization of Political Science majors; and it is just right in time that CoNIC recently made the alternative job expo project official.

Not your ordinary job hunt

The CoNIC job expo aims to aid DLSU students seeking job opprtunities from both government, non-government employers and recruitment agencies. It will also be a venue for students to expand their employment preferences, instead of the usual opportunities offered by mainstream and multinational corporations and organizations.

The plan for the two- to three-day job expo comprises an exposition of the different government and non-government agencies, and a series of talks that will discuss the nature and description of the different participating organizations.

OCCS Director Joey Alejo clarifies that the job expo will be a University-wide activity. CoNIC Chairperson Mel Garcia affirms that the job expo will be open to all colleges to expose the greater portion of the community to career paths outside the typical.

Undergraduate students can also participate in the alternative job expo. Reden Recio of COSCA says that interested undergraduates may apply for volunteer work in the different organizations.

The alternative job expo will not only widen the employment choices of students but will also serve as an opportunity for  CoNIC to strengthen their ties with the different partnering organizations and form new ones.

Looking forward

Students are optimistic and enthusiastic about the plans for the alternative job fair. “This [job fair] would generate more opportunities for a higher percentage of employment. [Moreover], NGO employment can help students share and specialize in their skills not only in big companies [but also in NGOs].” Anna Katrina Adre (IV, AB-OCM) says.

Mark Uy (V, AB-POM) shares that the CoNIC job expo will improve his chances of getting employed in fields he is good at and interesed in.

Adre also points out that CoNIC should be particular in choosing partner organizations. Uy suggests that CoNIC also invite international NGOs to participate in the job expo.

Recio boasts that the CoNIC job expo will provide employment opportunities, in the fields of research, training, secretarial, documentation, advocacy and overseas work, which will cater to the dynamic interests of DLSU students.

CoNIC plans to implement the alternative job expo on Nov. It may be executed every term, side by side with the regular University job fair, if it will produce a positive feedback from the students after its first run.

OCCS will provide the alternative job expo organizers with logistical and technical guidance.