New recruits at no cost

Wednesday 17 September 2014

Bosses and jobseekers will be looking for a job match made in heaven when they meet up later this month.

JobsFest is back this autumn giving short-term employment to more locally-qualified Islanders who’ve been looking for work all year and are struggling at a time when jobs are more scarce.

They’ll get to go back to work for an eight-week stint with their wages and contributions paid for by the States - good news for bosses who will save almost £2,000 while they train up their new recruits.

It’s kicking off with a job match event on Wednesday 24 September when employers can meet up with all those looking for work at the Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel.

Social Security Minister Francis Le Gresley said: “The job match event will be a great opportunity for employers to meet candidates quickly and easily, and I hope that they take advantage of it because they will then be able to use the eight weeks of JobsFest to train and test that person at no financial cost.

Last year the scheme helped 109 people go back to work, costing the States £138,000 in wages but saving them £200,000 in benefits.  Sixty-seven still had a job at the end of the eight weeks.

Senator Le Gresley said: “Last year’s success indicates that offering employers a short-term wage incentive gives them the confidence to hire someone that they might not otherwise have considered, and I hope that we have similar success this year.”

“Even those people who were not kept on after JobsFest benefited from the initiative. The eight weeks of work gave them new skills and experience to add to their CV, which stood them in good stead for future roles.”

JobsFest will run from Monday 6 October to Friday 30 November – a particularly difficult time to find jobs.