December 6, 2022
In light of a reportedly poor showing at a government-hosted job fair last week, the CEO of a regional recruitment firm is encouraging businesses to consider alternative options for their hiring needs.
Some 30 major employers turned out to the job fair last week with the hopes of conducting interviews and possibly hiring candidates on the spot for available positions in a range of industries. Instead, videos circulating on social media showed a conference hall full of vacant chairs as commentators lamented the woeful lack of attendees.
“Job fairs are usually useful, and will probably always have a place in the labour market,” said Joseph Boll, Caribbean Employment Services Inc. CEO. “But times are changing, too. Especially among the younger generation just now starting to join the workforce, and especially after the pandemic — and the remote work phenomena that came with it — more people are looking online to land their next job.”
Caribbean Employment Services Inc. is a market-leading digital talent acquisition service that aims to connect the top talent from the Caribbean with hiring managers, HR professionals and decision-makers in companies both within the Caribbean as well as abroad. It also aims to provide the region’s jobseekers and those who are already employed with news and resources related to Caribbean labour, helping to provide insights into where the labour market is headed.
According to Boll, businesses can benefit from a wider pool of candidates by taking their recruitment process online. For instance, instead of only being able to screen candidates physically in the area on the given day and at the given time of a job fair, employers would be able to even screen candidates who may reside in different areas but be willing to relocate. This, he said, would increase a company’s chances of finding not just a temporary solution but the actual best candidate for a role.
Companies can save even more time and improve their hiring outcomes even more by leveraging partnerships with professional recruitment services, the CEO added. He noted that businesses can increase visibility of job vacancies, or even just increase brand awareness, by distributing job postings online through various services. Even if not using the full gamut of services available, such as full talent acquisition, Boll said that even just using diverse job boards can be a gamechanger.
“As a business, if you’re making the effort and expense to hire, it makes sense to do so in a way you know you’ll be guaranteed success,” said Boll. “Job fairs are one way, but they’re not the only option in this day and age.”