by Thousands of graduating students from different colleges and universities in the entire province of Bohol had gathered at Bohol Cultural Center last February 4 for the Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar (PEOS). The event was initiated by the Office of the Governor and Bohol Employment and Placement Office (BEPO). “Empowering the new members of the labor force” was the theme of the program. All universities in Tagbilaran City were present in the program plus the colleges from Tubigon, Bilar, Talibon, Candijay, Balilihan, Calape and other towns in Bohol. The cultural center was jam-packed with hopeful students who were very eager to listen to different speeches from the invited guests.
The first invited guest of the program was the head of HR at Alturas Group of Companies, Maam Nora Pahang. She was assigned to talk about Modernized Job Hunting. She mentioned about the huge numbers of applicants that they cater daily at Alturas. She gave hints to the graduating students in looking for a job. She cited some examples like managing job search by creating and updating the linkedin account, customizing the resume template, writing a customize cover letter and being searchable online for possible job opportunities from companies who would like to contact.
The next guest was a representative of POEA. She briefed the students of all the possibilities of illegal recruitments. There were a lot of tips on how to avoid abusive people who take the opportunity to victimize the new graduates. She mentioned that everyone can refer for more details on their POEA website.
To spice up the event, no less than the governor of the province of Bohol, Governor Edgar Chatto, had graced the event. He was thankful with the attendance of 2475 registered participants of the seminar. During his speech, he said that he is not going to talk about the employment and working abroad since those topics were already covered by the past speakers. He mentioned the possibility of engaging into entrepreneurship for the new graduates. He gave an example of 2 stories as proof of having entrepreneurs that could help the economy. His first example was about Dalareich Polot. He knew Dalareich since he was able to talk with her. He was inspired with Dalareich’s achievements from selling the tablea up to the scholarship she attended in Belgium. He was amazed with the packaging that Dalareich is now bearing about the chocolates which come from the land of Chocolate Hills. His second example was about his previous working student. He mentioned about the struggles that his working student had encountered in order to apply for a job as a seaman to go abroad. While his previous working student was lining up at the agency, he was able to notice the banana cue vendor. He tried the business which made him to get successful in the chosen business. According to Gov. Chatto, he is now an exporter of bananas to different countries of the world.
With the huge attendance of the graduating students here in Bohol, the activity was very successful. As mentioned during the program, the pre-employment orientation seminar is conducted twice a year. This is a good opportunity for the graduating students to know more on their career and to get acquainted with the government policies. More power to the organizers of the event.
