Date Published : 10-12-2024

 

>Capacity Building Programme of newly recruited Employment Counselling Officers

>A capacity building programme for some 30 newly recruited Employment Counselling Officers aiming to equip them with the right skills and competencies to meet the expectations of employers and job seekers, was launched, this morning, in the presence of the Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations, Mr Muhammad Reza Cassam Uteem, at the seat of the Ministry in Port Louis.

>The programme, an initiative of the Ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the African Regional Labour Administration Centre, and France Travail, will be held from 02 to 06 December 2024. It will be facilitated by Mr Michael Mwasikakata from ILO Geneva and Mr Fabrice Russo from France Travail Reunion Island.

>Addressing the new recruits, Minister Uteem called upon them to carry out their duties effectively so as to provide vocational guidance and counselling to job seekers and to conduct job matching exercise to enable their suitable placement. Employment Counselling Officers, he stated, will have a key role in addressing the issue of mismatch of jobs on the market and promote employment. 

>“We are conscious of an effective employment service which would strive towards promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all in line with Sustainable Development Goal 8”, he stressed. He outlined the main functions of the National Employment Department (NED) which are to facilitate the employment of job seekers; provide assistance and guidance with regard to employment prospects; and provide labour market information on the demand and supply of skills to local employers, job seekers and training institutions.

>Minister Uteem urged the NED to be more effective in their approach by tackling mismatch of jobs, provide solutions to underemployment and anticipate future market demands in view to assist some 40,000 persons registered as unemployed. As such, he highlighted the importance of training and capacity building programmes for the Employment Counselling Officers to be better prepared to execute their duties efficiently and support employment.  

>Also present at the event, the Director and Resident Representative of the ILO Country Office for Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles and Mauritius, Mr Frederick Mula, reiterated the ILO’s support to the Government in its efforts to improve the quality of delivery of services.

>“Mauritius is one of the few countries in the Southern African Development Community region that has a strong public employment service”, he stated, while commending the Government for developing the new National Employment Policy of the ILO meant to design employment policies and programmes.

>Source Government Information Service, Prime Minister’s Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius. Email: gis@govmu.org  Website: https://gis.govmu.org  Mobile App: Search Gov