Labour gears for mass registration of jobseekers

ABOUT N$6 million is needed to get jobseekers registered at the National Employment Bureau of the Ministry of Labour and Social Services.

Abius Mwiya, deputy director of employment services at the ministry, yesterday told The Namibian that once the money is secured from the government or donors, the ministry can start training 500 people from the National Youth Service for its registration project.Training would take about a month, Mwiya said, adding that he hoped the necessary funds would be available by the end of July. If all goes well, the ministry hopes to start with the registration by September.The campaign will be countrywide, giving unemployed people from all 13 regions the chance to register. Mwiya said the registration process would continue for a year to give every jobseeker a fair chance.The ministry has bought a new computer system to process the data. Once the data is loaded, it will be available on the internet free of charge for all employers to access.Although employers will be required to register all vacancies, they will not be forced to employ someone registered at the Employment Service Bureau. ‘We would, however, encourage them to do so,’ Mwiya said.The employment bureau will not just register vacancies and jobseekers, it will match jobseekers with potential employers and keep track of the unemployed.