Guyana’s labour Ministry launched a national job bank online on Friday to connect the unemployed with jobs across the country. Subject minister, Joseph Hamilton, said during the launch ceremony that the government wants companies in the oil and gas sector to be key users of the facility.
The job bank is part of government’s work to boost local content and fulfill an election promise to facilitate increased employment with 50,000 new jobs. The Minister first announced the initiative during a 2022 budget presentation in January.
“All those who seek jobs, they can go there, post their credentials and employers who have vacancies they can go there and post those vacancies,” he had said.
The government intends to partner with private employment agencies to increase the bank’s reach. This will be spearheaded by the Ministry’s Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CRMA), which will also be canvassing for vacancies and keeping the bank updated.
“The job bank will be accessible from any location, where internet service is available, locally or internationally,” Bishram Kuppen, Permanent Secretary at the labour ministry, said. “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 said the job bank is designed to allow synergistic interaction between jobseekers and employers without the intervention of a third party. However, he said the manpower agency would provide “customer support” and have an in-person aspect at its offices for employers and jobseekers to visit.
“We had to appoint more central recruitment and manpower officers at the head office and the regions, where they did not exist,” Mr. Hamilton said.
He added that the government will have to set up labour offices in nearly all administrative regions, to promote optimum accessibility to all Guyanese, regardless of their location.
Guyana established local content legislation in December 2021, and in so doing, mandated employment quotas for Guyanese across a series of sectors. The companies, starting from the date their contract is signed, are expected to ramp-up their local employment in-keeping with the evolution of the quotas over a 10-year period.
