MANILA - A majority of Filipinos are willing to be retrained for other opportunities to ensure job security, a global survey by recruitment portal Jobstreet said.

At least 77 percent of Filipino workers are "willing to be retrained for a different job as needed," Jobstreet Philippines said in a virtual briefing, citing data from its Decoding Global Talent Survey released in May.

A higher number of blue collar workers, at 82 percent, are also willing to be retrained, the study conducted in 190 countries showed.

The interest in upskilling was influenced mainly by job security, Jobstreet said.

"Upskilling and retraining is a key ingredient in finding success and brings hope to many who are displaced and currently working," JobStreet Philippines Country Manager Philip Gioca said in a virtual briefing.

“Job roles are transforming faster than ever and both hirers and candidates must understand the need for upskilling for them to be more competitive and employable, respectively," he said.

AUTOMATION AND RELEVANCE

Companies are also urged to expand workers' skills to build resiliency against automation. Workers in customer service, service sector, administration and secretariat, arts and creative work are at "higher risk," Jobstreet said.

Meanwhile, even those who are part of the in-demand category such as engineering, law, health and medicine and IT, among others, should upskill "to stay relevant," the recruitment portal said.

“We can see that automation has become a key factor in the workplace, so it is an advantage to learn digital skills regardless of your job role,” Gioca said.

AS EASY AS ONLINE SHOPPING

To help jobless Filipinos find opportunities, Jobstreet will host an online jobs fair dubbed as "Job to Cart" on July 26 to July 30.

Jobseekers just need to go online, choose a job post and apply without leaving their homes, which makes job hunting "as easy as online shopping," Jobstreet Philippines senior sales manager Ryan Tordesillas said.

To make the experience more interesting, a live streaming feature "will support" the jobs fair, where applicants can learn more about opportunities, requirements as well enjoy some entertainment with live performances, Tordesillas said.

Over 73,000 job opportunities are available during the event, the company said.

Jobstreet said out of the total available jobs, 53,000 are based in Luzon, 58,000 are open to hiring fresh graduates and almost 2,500 are opportunities overseas.

When asked about how the vaccination could affect the hiring process, Gioca said companies should not discriminate but job seekers are encouraged to get vaccinated.

In April, at least 4.14 million Filipinos were jobless, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.

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