Regularising employment agencies looming as National Job Bank launched

The anticipated National Job Bank has been launched by the Labour Ministry, paving the way for Guyanese seeking employment to browse potential vacancies available in the country.

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton informed on Friday during the launching that with this platform now available, authorities intend to pursue actions to regularise employment agencies. While these agencies will be able to access the information, the Minister contended that it must be done within operating procedures.
“We’re working on a registration form. We’re seeking legal guidance in that regard because 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. We will give latitude to the employment agencies operating in this space to utilise the job bank but it will have to be done within a framework.”
The Labour Minister outlined that no fees will be attached to any potential employer or job seeker utilising the data but credit must be provided to the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency.
“We will not allow anyone to utilise our information, our data and claim it as their own. Therefore, the Permanent Secretary will write every employment agency that exists here informing them about the launch of the job bank, their participation and most importantly, the restrictions that we will have.”
The National Job Bank was initiated as part of a mechanism to address employment and placement of Guyanese. The Minister shared that while the Ministry is training thousands of persons, it must also look at employment mechanisms for these persons to access employment.
“Everything we do, it has a reason and a purpose because we have said collectively and individually that we will ensure that we will establish the most robust Ministry of Labour ever in the history of Guyana. That is the course we have set ourselves…It is not just the training but it is finding a medium so that people can find a job. That is why this job bank is important to us and the nation as it develops,” Hamilton disclosed.
Hamilton said the Board of Industrial Training, which was training 1300 to 1500 individuals per year, saw this number increase to 2000 just a few months after Government took office. In 2021, the number further increased by 50 per cent with 3068 persons trained. The target for 2022 is over 4000 trainees across the country.
Permanent Secretary Bishram Kuppen also added that the design of the job bank took into consideration the needs of employers and job seekers and was structured to allow synergistic interaction between them without the intervention of any third party.
“The job bank will be accessible from any location where internet service is available, locally or internationally. Employers now have this valuable cost-free resource to list their vacancies to find suitable candidates to fill their vacant positions. Job seekers also have a cost-free resource to browse the job bank database to review jobs, in the public or private sectors and locations that are available,” Kuppen stated.
The public can access the National Job Bank on jobs.gov.gy. (G12)