Over 1800 persons employed through Labour Ministry’s job bank – Min Griffith

– urges persons to register to access opportunities

The Labour Ministry has supplied nearly 3000 individuals with employment opportunities in the last five years through its job bank, and with more than 16,000 positions available, individuals are encouraged to get registered in order to tap into these prospective jobs.
Labour and Manpower Planning Minister Keoma Griffith made these calls during an appearance on this week’s edition of the Starting Point podcast.
He explained that this service, which is managed by the Ministry’s Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency, operates like a regular commercial bank, where individuals go to the job bank to either seek employment or offer job opportunities.
“Employers are able to come and register jobs. They come and say, ‘We have a hundred vacancies, and this is what we’re looking for.’ Employees can come to the bank and say, ‘These are my qualifications, and I’m looking for a job. This is what I can offer,'” he noted.
According to Griffith, the recruitment agency screens these individuals and then matches them with suitable jobs.
“In the last five years, we’ve been able to register 16,922 vacancies with the job bank. In terms of individuals seeking jobs and positions, we’ve been able to place 2960 of them,” he noted.
Of those individuals matched with jobs, approximately 1837 of them are still actively employed.
The Labour Minister is imploring more Guyanese to get registered with the job bank so that they too can be placed with employment opportunities.
“[If] you’re looking for work, please come to the job bank. Tell us what you have to offer, and we will try to match you with a suitable job so that you can be productive and contribute to Guyana… I assure you, there are many opportunities for jobs,” he asserted.
For some time now, there have been concerns about the shortage of skilled labour in Guyana. In fact, with the country experiencing a construction boom, contractors have been complaining bitterly about finding workers – something which Griffith said they have been addressing.
“Since I’ve become Minister, simple individuals who have been in construction [say], ‘Oh, Minister, I really want some workers.’ I said, ‘Okay, no problem. Come into the Ministry on XYZ day.’ And we’ve been able to supply them with workers,” he noted.
Through the job bank, the labour Ministry has also been able to provide workers for a shipping company, as well as small businesses that needed cashiers. In fact, last December, the Ministry organised a massive job fair in Region Three (Essequibo Islands–West Demerara) to get some 1000 workers for the model Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project at Wales, West Bank Demerara, where works are being fast-tracked in order to meet the year-end deadline.
“All work is honest work. There is no need to discriminate against what kind of job it is… The possibilities are endless. You can have a job as a cashier, or it goes all the way up to working on one of Guyana’s premier development projects, the Gas-to-Energy project. So, there’s a lot [of opportunities] to be taken,” the Minister stressed.
Nevertheless, Griffith is calling on businesses to get registered with the Ministry’s job bank so that they can widen the opportunities available to individuals seeking employment, as he pledged to ramp up awareness efforts for this facility.
“There is a little more awareness that can be done of the job bank, which is something that we intend to continue to do… But I also want to take this opportunity to call on the private sector to support the job bank. Let us know when you have opportunities available so that we can match skilled and competent individuals to your employment,” he emphasised.
Individuals or companies interested in joining the job bank can contact the Labour Ministry or visit its website.