Launching of job portal www.mauritiusjobs

[Pages:4]1

LAUNCHING OF WWW.MAURITIUSJOBS.MU IOM Speech

Head of Office ? Me Lalini VEERASSAMY

The Honourable Shakeel Mohamed, Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Dr. the Honourable Rajeshwar Jeetah, Minister of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology The Honourable Cader Sayed Hossen, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps Distinguished Invited Guests Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), I would like to also welcome you all today to this all-important event, the official launching of mauritiusJobs.mu. Allow me first and foremost to express my sincere gratitude to the European Union and the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies for having supported this initiative. The EU have and remain strategic partners for the Government of Mauritius as well as for the IOM worldwide.

Circular migration has been identified today as the form of labour mobility that can bring mutual gains for countries of origin, countries of destination and migrants themselves and their families, the so-called "triple win". All of the potential gains suggest that circular migration programmes and policies should be given careful attention and consideration in exploring and realizing the potential development gains of migration. This comes in line with the global IOM strategy adopted on 7th of June

2

2007 by the members states, which emphasizes the importance of migration management under IOM global leadership through an integral and holistic perspective.

In many countries today, government at both ends of the migration spectrum are developing regulatory mechanisms to manage labour mobility to their individual and mutual benefit, and that of the migrant. While job creation at home is the first best option, an increasing number of countries, such as Mauritius, see international labour migration as an integral part of national development and employment strategies. As an inter-governmental body, IOM aims to accompany its member States in such approach whilst promoting local and international labour opportunities, which respect human dignity. Through various projects worldwide and even more so in Mauritius, our organization has ensured that adequate actions are taken in order to meet the expected developmental outcomes. These include information dissemination, database set-up and registration of potential workers, matching skills and demand, pre-departure orientation, transit and post-arrival assistance as well as facilitating inter-state dialogue and regional cooperation. The cooperation agreement, which was signed yesterday between the IOM and the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment is therefore a natural commitment that we have made towards the Government of Mauritius to continue accompanying our member state in this endeavor.

In the course of the past seven years, IOM and the Government of Mauritius have operated various labour migration projects. In fact, more than 445 Mauritians and Rodriguans have benefited from this programme and are currently employed in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec. These projects have met with a great deal of success and generated a positive and productive working relationship between IOM and the Government of Mauritius to allow both parties to learn and improve services in the management and facilitation of labour

3

migration. Such success has indeed led to the sponsorship of the European Union in 2013 of a total of around 842,000 euros to facilitate circular mobility schemes between Italy and Mauritius, in the fishing, tourism and the agribusiness. In fact more specifically, without the financial support of EU, the event that we are celebrating today will not have been possible. Within the circular migration project with Italy, one of the activities was the upgrading of the facilities of the Employment Information Centres, and wisely enough, consensus was reached on the creation of an interactive online platform that will connect jobseekers with both local and international employers which will at the same time enhance the role of the EICs.

While the current outreach and selection process for overseas employment opportunities has functioned well up to now, there were shortcomings to the system and, as employers increasingly became interested in recruiting in and from Mauritius, a more long-term and innovative approach was required. A permanent and integrated job management system that offers not only a competitive pool of jobseekers with various skills and interests but also an up-to-date list of job openings from employers constitutes a more sustainable approach to the management and facilitation of employment in and from Mauritius. Such vital tool will undoubtedly enhance the current labour market information system and constitute a competitive instrument with public employment databases in other countries.

The new mauritiusjobs.mu is an online tool designed to store information on Mauritian and Rodriguan candidates interested in job opportunities locally and overseas in order to match the local labour supply with demand of local and foreign employers. The system also provides the opportunity for Mauritians overseas to also apply and benefit from such opportunities. Mauritiusjobs will constitute a strong marketing tool, which will enable employers to make an online selection of candidates who best suit

4

their desired profile. Employers can also tailor make their search by using their own predefined key words and at the same time manage their selection process online, thus simultaneously enjoying the benefit of a paperless selection exercise from the moment they shortlist applicants until they make their final selection. Jobseekers will not only be able to access the website on their tablets and mobiles, but will also be able to highlight their specific skills, and upload their documents, CVS, certificates and employment testimonials. At each step of the selection exercise, when an employer shortlists them or calls them for an interview, they will be notified by email. This interactive and cost effective open source database has been developed by Reefcube Ltd. I would like to seize this opportunity to personally thank Eric Chaber as his skills and knowhow has been instrumental in the development in this interactive tool. Mr Chaber is at the head of a start-up software development company but has a rich experience in software development, mobile apps and website development.

We are therefore confident that the new Mauritiusjobs.mu will work as a useful tool to harness the developmental benefits of employment in Mauritius and therefore look forward to our continued collaboration with the Government of Mauritius, in the area of labour migration.

On this note, Honourable Ministers, Your Excellencies and Distinguished Guests, I thank you for your kind attention.

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download