Dear Editor,
I note your letter ‘Hard to get a job’ (SN Sept 27, 08) where the writer is painting with a broad brush the employment practices in our country.
I want to caution those looking for jobs that they should send their applications and continue to persevere. Also they can use the services of the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CRMA), which is located on the top floor of the SIMAP building (next to St. Margaret’s School) in Camp Street.
One must appreciate that different companies have different hiring practices and also that unemployment among young people is higher than that for the older population.
Many companies have used the services of the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency, and as such I can vouch that these companies do not have policies that favour people with inside contacts. As of the end of August we have received 1384 vacancies from employers and have placed over 1180 persons in these jobs. In addition, over 900 advertisements, covering 40 job classifications, have appeared in the newspapers. The CRMA would call these places and also seek to place applicants with them. We have received over 1500 applicants looking for jobs in this agency.
For the benefit of your readers and in particular, those looking for jobs I would appreciate if you can publish this list in its entirety.
As can be seen from these statistics there is an increase in demand for clerical skills (computer operators has a huge increase in demand) and the agency is on track to filling over 1600 vacancies this year. However, we will still have over 400 vacancies that we do not have persons with the qualifications and training to fill.
I urge persons looking for jobs to have an open mind and be flexible to be trained in areas other than what you may want to do. I also urge our youths to stay in school and make the best use of the opportunities to get a complete secondary education – the higher your level of education and training the better the job opportunities and pay. The recent data at our disposal shows that 62% of our workforce has education at the level of primary or below.
I do acknowledge that there is a large number of persons looking for work and finding it difficult to get same, but on the other hand there are many companies looking for workers. Our Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency can assist many with these. In an effort to re-promote the services of this division we did a three months’ campaign from April to the end of June, we will repeat this shortly.
Yours faithfully,
Manzoor Nadir
Minister of Labour
Notifications and Placements of Individuals in Jobs
1. Chemist
2 Laboratory Technicians
3. Microbiologist
4. Medical Officer
5. Mechanical Technicians
6 Computer Programmers
7. Reporters
8. Maintenance Superintend
9. Trainee Tug Captain
10 Drivers
11 Technicians
12 Upholsterers
13 Civil Engineer
14 Welder/Fabricators
15 Mechanical Engineer
16 Graphic Artist
17 Operators (Forklift, Boiler
and Chainsaw)
18 Oilers
19 Chef
20 Joiners
21 Diesel Fitter
22 Database Administrators
23 Pharmacists
24 Community Agriculture Officers
25 Programme Specialists
26. Electrical Technician
27. Plant Mechanic
28 Excavator Operator
29 Bandsaw
30 Moulder
31 Loader/Edger
32 Caterpillar Mechanic
33 Coordinator
34 Consultants
35 Underwriting Clerk
36 Business Administrators
37 Executive Secretary – interior location
38 Engineers
39 Marketing Advisors
40 Marine Superintendant
