Department of Communication students visit Rappler’s office for their company tour last Feb. 28. Photo from FEU Career and Placement Office’s Facebook page.

As part of its efforts to better equip students to respond to industry demands, Far Eastern University’s Career and Placement Office (CAPO) coordinated a series of company tours for its students last February.

Through these company tours, students from different institutes were given the opportunity to gain insights from industry leaders and become exposed to companies and organizations’ operations and working environments.

Students from the Institute of Arts and Sciences Department of Language and Literature (DLL) were the first batch to attend a company tour this semester last Feb. 12. They went to the offices of Jobstreet by Seek, and were met by the company’s Candidate Marketing Lead, Rafael Iñigo dela Cruz. In his talk, dela Cruz emphasized the importance of expanding one’s professional skills.

“Upskilling will help you stand out from your competition, whether it is for job security, for promotion, or for better opportunities elsewhere,” said dela Cruz.

Rafael Iñigo dela Cruz, Jobstreet’s Candidate Marketing Lead, addresses students from IAS’ Department of Language and Literature. Photo from FEU Career and Placement Office.

Last Feb. 16, students from the Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance had their company tour with ARC Refreshments Corporation, producer of RC Cola, Rite ‘n Lite, and other locally made refreshments. Here, the students learned the proudly Filipino company’s commitment to high quality products and ethical business practices and were able to get a glimpse of their company operations.

Students from the Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance learn about ARC Refreshment Corporation’s values and operations. Photo from FEU Career and Placement Office.

The Department of Budget and Management accommodated students from IAS’ Political Science, Interdisciplinary Studies, and International Studies programs to their offices for the students’ tour last Feb. 20. During the tour, several representatives from the agency equipped the students with knowledge on the agency’s operations and functions and even gave out prizes to students who were able to answer questions.

Katherine B. Castro, Acting Chief Budget and Management Specialist of Department of Budget and Management Castro highlighted what government work entails.
“In looking for a career in the government service, always find a heart to serve the public because in one way or another you are making impact to people’s lives,” Castro said.

Katherine B. Castro, DBM’s Acting Chief Budget and Management Specialist gives IAS students insights on what it takes to work for the government. Photo from FEU Career and Placement Office.

Vincent Valdez, a fourth-year International Studies student mentioned that his main takeaway from the tour was an insight from Castro on the importance of practical skills and the value of the tour they attended.

“They mentioned several times that not everything you need to know to be prepared for work might be taught inside the classrooms,” Valdez said.

Students from IAS’ Department of Communication had their company tour with the news agency, Rappler last Feb. 28. Aside from touring the news agency’s offices, the students also attended a workshop led by Pia Ranada-Robles, Rappler’s Community Lead.In this workshop, Ranada underlined the importance of community engagement and maximizing journalism as a means to bring attention to the issues communities face.

Pia Ranada-Robles discusses the importance of community engagement in the practice of journalism. Photo from FEU Career and Placement Office.

“Find what you love to do, look for what your community or society needs, combine the two and make that your vocation,” said Ranada.

According to CAPO’s coordinators, Kevin Armingol and Faith Jovellanos, the office still has upcoming company tours slated for the rest of the semester to cater to the rest of the institutes.