Guidance Counsellors, school leavers, career planners, jobseekers and the unemployed will soon have easier access to information on available jobs in Barbados.
This comes as the Barbados Standard Occupational Classification System (BARSOC) is in the process of being upgraded and digitized, so that persons can access data on all occupations in Barbados.
Chief Research and Planning Officer at the Ministry of Labour, Mark Franklin was among those who gave participants at a training session, some insight into the way the new system will function.
???If you were to think about a dictionary, how words are laid out from A to Z and explained, BARSOC does the same thing but for the occupations that can be found in the Barbados Labour Market,??? he said.
According to Mr Franklin, BARSOC will also provide information about every task and duty, including conditions that are associated with the occupations, such as, ???is there a lot of sitting, is there a lot of standing, will you have to work indoors or outdoors or do you have to work a lot of overtime??????When the revised BARSOC is introduced, several stakeholders will also be able to take advantage of the information provided.
The Chief Research and Planning Officer noted: ???If you are a human resources or personnel manager, you may have a vacancy that may be coming up in your firm but you may want a more defined example of the duties when you are writing the job description so BARSOC would serve as a local point of reference.???
The Planning Unit at the Ministry of Labour is also encouraging employers to submit new job descriptions which can be included when BARSOC is updated.
Mr. Franklin added that they were especially interested in receiving information on sectors that are critical to the future economic development of Barbados including: the alternative energy sector, health and wellness, IT, construction and hospitality.
Employers with relevant information can reach the Planning Unit by calling 310-1498 or 310-1400 and once completed BARSOC will be available to the general public free of charge.
Persons who can benefit from BARSOC include: CARICOM nationals, policy makers, trade unions and foreign investors.??The Barbados Standard Occupational Classification System falls under Pillar 3 of the Ministry of Labour???s Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDS) and is funded by the European Union.
jamal.hall@barbados.gov.bb