Speaking at the Jobstreet Career Con 2025 at the SMX Convention Center last week, Marcos credited government-led initiatives to upskill workers as a key factor in reducing unemployment.
"Cooperation between the government and the private sector is very important. Ma’am Tessie Coson, who has been with us from the start, opened the doors of SM malls for job fairs like this, which have been very successful," he said.
SM Investments Corp. vice chair Teresita Sy-Coson is a member of the Private Sector Advisory Council’s (PSAC) Education and Jobs Group, established by the President in 2022.
The President expressed confidence that many of the 18,000 registered job seekers at the fair would secure employment.
"When we did these job fairs and upskilling programs with SM before, they were very successful. So we said, let's try to do this more often," he added.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed a decline in the country's unemployment rate, from 3.9 percent in October 2024 to 3.2 percent in November 2024, within a labor force of 51.2 million.
Marcos underscored that public-private partnerships have facilitated job matching while enhancing workforce skills. Malacañang emphasized that upskilling programs are part of broader government initiatives aimed at improving employment and livelihood.
The job fair featured 130 companies, including SM Retail, Nestlé, Metrobank, and Accenture, spanning industries such as IT, business process management, retail, banking, construction, logistics, food services, and manufacturing.
In 2024, SM Supermalls hosted 183 job fairs nationwide, connecting 107,000 job seekers with nearly 6,000 employers. About 14,500 applicants were hired on the spot, reinforcing SM’s role as a major employment hub. These job fairs are part of the J.O.B.S. (Job Opportunities Building Skills) initiative, which organizes weekly employment fairs at SM malls nationwide.
The events also provide government one-stop-shop services for employment-related documents, including tax identification numbers, police or NBI clearance, Social Security System registration, Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, and national ID applications.
SM job fairs are conducted in partnership with PSAC, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Migrant Workers, local government units, Public Employment Service Offices, Jobstreet by SEEK, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, the Philippine Exporters Confederation, and other industry groups.
In the latter half of 2024, SM expanded its job fair partnerships to include government agencies such as the Department of Health, the Department of Tourism, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and the Civil Service Commission for their respective job fairs.
— Edited by Daxim L. Lucas
