Jobs.ai, the online job search/job listing site for both public and private businesses and jobseekers, was launched on Tuesday 3rd March at the Anguilla Community College. It is one more step into bringing Anguilla on par with the rest of the region. According to Mr Bren Romney, Director of Youth and Culture (DYC): “The current environment or market place for employment in Anguilla requires structure and organization.”
He was pleased with the launch of Jobs.ai especially for school leavers who are ‘au fait’ with online media for, as he said: “… In a marketplace that is fragmented and in a many cases unfair; often highly dependent on word of mouth, on who you know, also on newspapers and radio ads to get the word out…, these instruments are not commonly used by our young people… Jobs.ai is designed to add a touch of modernity and fairness to the labour market.” He further stated, “It is designed to be a one stop area for employment opportunities, advice, guidance and support. It creates a central marketplace where employers can interact with jobseekers and jobseekers with employers.”
The project was developed through a public-private partnership: the DYC, the Governor’s Office, and LIVE Communications (of which Tahirah Banks is the Managing Director). DYC conceived the idea and LIVE Communications designed and developed it.
Miss Banks, resource person, gave an overview and tour of the website and conducted the training session for the human resource personnel who attended the launch. Her hope is that “our communications system can be used to promote growth and education, innovation and creative problem solving… Our goal was to create a platform that provided actionable opportunities for all its users.” She thinks that Jobs.Ai will benefit Anguilla in 4 Key Ways:
1. It will improve the overall efficiency of the job process with the hope that improvements in efficiency will lead to improvements in our economy.
2. It will give young people a sense of autonomy/control over their life… Our hope is that the next generation of Anguillians has a greater sense of belief in their innate potential and that with this site they see meaningful opportunities to make their dreams a reality.
3. For entrepreneurs/artists/the folk like me, with the grand plans, we want them to have a platform to express their ideas and provide them with the resources they need to turn those ideas into tangible real life accomplishments.
4. Finally, Jobs.Ai was created to uplift our island and its people. Our hope is that it will improve the general wellbeing and sentiments about the economy and the opportunities available on the island of Anguilla.
Employers will be happy to note that posting their jobs on the site will be free for the foreseeable future. This is primarily to encourage use of the site; for, as Mr Romney said, “The participation of businesses is critical if we are to truly create an online marketplace for jobs, and add a level of efficiency and effectiveness to the Anguilla Job Market that is currently lacking… It will require all of us to make it work for the benefit of our youth and people.”
