The City Tourism Office is urging training centers to continue upskilling and retraining workers to be able to meet the manpower needs of the industry.
“Medyo hirap ang establishments na maghanap ng additional workers dahil dumadami ang demand sa industry (Establishments are having difficulty looking for additional workers due to the demand),” City Tourism Officer Aloysius Mapalo said in a media interview on Thursday.
Mapalo said the demand continues to rise as the industry picks up from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with more establishments and new businesses opening in the city.
“There are many more shops, big and small, that opened and others opening aside from the old establishments that already existed and resumed, that is why there is a big demand,” he said.
Mapalo added that the demand includes workers for food and beverage, housekeeping, service crew, barista, and others that are required in hotels, inns, restaurants, and coffee shops.
He said several former hotel industry workers have returned to their home provinces during the pandemic as many establishments closed due to lockdowns and other restrictions brought by the pandemic.
Mapalo said training is necessary to update the skills and workers and for them to be able to adapt to new systems, especially with safety rules in the operation of an establishment.
Meanwhile, the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) – Baguio reported a 99.38 percent placement of job seekers or applicants to various vacant positions locally and overseas.
Leandro Tabilog, Executive Assistant to the Mayor and in charge of the city’s PESO, said as of November 8, the PESO was also able to facilitate the completion of the skills training of about 114 trainees for their various preferred skills in the different training centers duly accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
“Of the 22,741 job seekers and applicants who sought assistance from the PESO, some 22,600 job seekers and applicants were placed or landed a job,” he said. (PNA)
