JobsFest finds work for unemployed Islanders

Saturday 27 December 2014

Almost fifty Islanders who had been out of work for the whole of this year found employment during the eight-weeks JobsFest organised by Social Security in October and November.

The scheme saw the department cover the wages and contributions for 78 locally-qualified people – and at the end of it the businesses employing 48 of them decided to keep them on their books.

Social Security Minister Susie Pinel has hailed the scheme as a success.

She said: “The JobsFest Employer Incentive gave businesses the confidence to employ people that they may not otherwise have hired.

“It proves that our strategy works, and that giving employers an incentive to hire someone who has been out of work can lead to that person becoming employed and no longer reliant on the support of the States.

“I believe that JobsFest was a positive experience, even for those jobseekers whose employment did not continue after the incentive ended; they still have the experience of work, which can be a huge psychological boost; their prospects have been enhanced; and their skills and experience have improved. They are in a much stronger position to find work as a result.”

The department also ran free events during JobsFest – which took place between 6 October and 30 November – to help people to sharpen up their skills. There were networking meetings hosted by employes, workshops designed to help jobseekers boost their CVs and interview skills, confidence building sessions and job-searching events.