National ‘Job Bank’ launched; employment agencies to be regularised

The National Job Bank was officially launched on Friday and is the latest initiative by the government to help people find employment.

The Job Bank, a fully online platform, was developed by the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency of the Ministry of Labour. Job seekers can now browse a database of vacancies from the comfort of their homes or anywhere with an internet connection, free of cost.

And employers will now be able to easily access potential employees who match skills, competency, and qualifications for vacant posts.

Employers can list vacancies free of cost and it features employment from all categories in the private and public sectors.

It aims to be the leading source for jobs in Guyana, Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton said. He hopes that the oil and gas sector will utilise the platform permanently.

Meanwhile, the Labour Minister explained that the ministry is seeking legal advice on regularising employment agencies.

“We want all employment agencies operating in this space to be registered and regulated by the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency, it is not a free for all, we will not allow a free for all,” Hamilton said.

Employment agencies that want to participate in the platform will have to follow a framework developed by the ministry. That framework states that no fees must be attached to any job seekers and that the ministry is credited for any data or information utilised by the agencies.

The project is fully funded by the government, but when questioned by the News Room about the cost, Minister Hamilton responded: “Our role specifically was instructions to make it happen, so I couldn’t speak to that question, perhaps one of my colleagues – the Minister of Finance can answer that question.”

The ministry’s Permanent Secretary Bishram Cuppen said the project was envisaged by President Dr Irfaan Ali.

“The design of the Job Bank took into consideration the needs of employers and job seekers and was structured to allow for synergistic interactions between them without the intervention of any third party,” Cuppen explained.

It is expected that a mobile application will be launched soon to complement the job bank. Persons who wish to access the job bank can visit jobs.gov.gy.