By Dave Louie Blas
Far Eastern University (FEU) Institute of Arts and Sciences (IAS) Student Council (SC) rolled out the return of on-campus government services at the Ready, Set, Work (RSW) initiative as part of the Career Fair 2026 held at the Arts Building (AB) Room 105 yesterday, July 14.
Introduced by IAS SC in the previous year, RSW is a project that aims to prepare graduating students for their career ventures by bringing government agencies and their services on campus.
In an online interview with FEU Advocate, IAS SC President Dara Ecleo shared that through its partnership with the FEU Central Student Organization, this year’s initiative intends to extend its reach to a broader student community.
“We aimed to expand the initiative by bringing in more government agencies and services within the campus, making them more accessible not only to the IAS community but to all Tamaraws,” she shared.
Moreover, Ecleo emphasized that adding Pag-IBIG and Social Security System (SSS) services this year is an ‘early step’ toward financial security and career readiness among the student body.
“Through these services, students can begin building their savings, secure their membership numbers, and gain access to benefits they can utilize in the future. This initiative also encourages financial responsibility by helping students develop the habit of preparing for long-term needs,” she stated.
Meanwhile, graduating Bachelor of Science (BS) in Internal Auditing student Beatriz Cristina Parcio said that the initiative helped them understand the different benefits offered as well as the processes of the government agencies that participated in the event.
“Meron silang binigay na mga flyers so that mas marami pa po kaming malalaman regarding sa benefits and mga [requirements], lalo na't ‘pag nag-a-apply kami ng work, ang daming kailangang valid IDs (They were distributing flyers so that we can learn more about the benefits and requirements, especially when we’re about to apply for a job, there are a lot of IDs needed),”she highlighted.
However, Parcio expressed concern about the large number of students who lined up for the event, which allegedly made the available accommodation insufficient.
“I don't think sa limited time, kahit na sabihin nating two days, mahaba ‘yung time pero ‘yung mga tao is super dami pa rin. So I think [dapat] palawakin pa po nila ‘yung place and [magdagdag] pa sila ng mas maraming mag-ga-guide sa amin (I don’t think that with the limited time, even if let’s say it’s for two days, there are still a lot of people. So I think they should expand the location and add more ushers to guide us),”the graduand shared.
Additionally, graduating BS in Internal Auditing student Kliana Elysha Salcedo shared points for improvement for the future implementation of RSW initiatives.
“Siguro mas ma-improve na lang when it comes sa mga queuing kasi kunwari dito, nako-confuse ‘yung mga tao na ganito ‘yung positioning nung [guide] pictures sa window [sa labas ng AB 105], pero ‘yung puwesto pala [sa loob] is iba (Maybe the queuing should be improved because, for example, people are getting confused here because the positioning of guide pictures on the window outside AB 105 is not the same as how it is positioned inside),” she observed.
Meanwhile, IAS SC announced on their Facebook page that PhilHealth and SSS had cut off their operations early on the first day, while Pag-IBIG remained open until the original cutoff time.
The RSW initiative is part of the career fair program organized by the FEU Career Development and Placement Office, which brought together over 50 participating firms and companies from various sectors this year.
(Photo by Cathlyn Audrey Adaro/FEU Advocate)