One of the core services offered free of charge by the Employment and Training Corporation to employers is job-matching. This involves being notified of job vacancies by employers and attempting to match these vacancies with job-seekers.
Recent improvements in the process have made this service (launched 15 years ago) more user-friendly for employers, now offering a better and faster service. The information which the ETC previously had about occupational preferences of job seekers has now been complemented by more in-depth information collected through profiling interviews conducted with the registered unemployed. We are continuously encouraging those looking for jobs to be active in their job search and to produce well-written CVs, sometimes also helping them to compile them when they attend ETC programmes.
On the other hand, the vacancy profile form now asks for more details from the employer about job requirements. This improves the matching process as ETC employment advisers can better match details contained in the vacancy requirements with the profile of job seekers, thereby referring suitable candidates to the employer to fill a particular vacancy. The more detailed the information the employer gives, the higher the probability of a good match.
Vacancies are usually displayed at our four regional job centres and also on the ETC Website for 15 days. We believe this widens the audience's reach as a vacancy is accessible to anyone, irrespective of employment status, who accesses the ETC Website or visits any job centre.
The vacancy will include the full details of the employer so he or she can be contacted directly by those interested in the job offer. The introduction of touch screen systems at the job centres help provide yet another tool to access job vacancies notified to the ETC and those available on the EURES portal.
Of course, the ETC Website allows job-seekers to access job vacancies from home. With the installation of touch screen systems in a number of localities, vacancies can be accessed at regional, local and home level.
Among the existing on-line services the Website allows employers to mail their vacancies electronically. The system automatically issues an acknowledgment for the employer. The Website also offers people looking for a job the possibility to input their CVs online.
The ETC will shortly be launching a part-time register providing all the necessary information for job hunters looking for part-time work and employers offering jobs on a part-time basis. This should increase our client base both in terms of people looking for part-time employment making more use of ETC services and employers increasing the number of part-time vacancies.
The ETC also introduced its freephone facility (80076500) for job-hunters who do not have access to Internet and cannot visit job centres regularly to know more about vacancies.
Addressing submission problems the ETC had in the past, the number of submissions made for each vacancy has now been fixed, thereby ensuring that the employer will have a reasonable number of people for the required job. Not only so but employment advisers at the ETC advise clients to submit their CVs to an employer instead of calling unexpectedly. We anticipate increased feedback from employers regarding clients applying this method.
A number of employers seem to be concerned about the unsuitability of clients who apply for jobs through the ETC.
However, our database entends beyond the registered unemployed. It includes people with a varied range of work experiences, skills and qualifications, ranging from persons with low academic qualifications seeking operative level jobs to work-experienced university graduates seeking middle or top management positions.
With the introduction of new measures, the number of job vacancies notified to the corporation has increased. The ETC has also managed to increase the placements to vacancy ratio, thereby indicating that the corporation is being more successful when it comes to matching vacancies with clients and meeting employers' needs.
As the public employment service entrusted with the processing of more than 7,000 vacancies every year, we are committed to helping employers satisfy their human resources needs. Employers can send vacancies by accessing the ETC Website at www.etc.gov.mt or by phoning the vacancy section on 2220-1221.
Mr Borg is general manager operations, ETC