Job seekers in the city now have a new online tool to help them in their search for employment.
LondonJobsNow.ca launched Friday.
Described as the "Trivago of jobs boards," the new website pulls in postings from the region's most popular job boards hourly and allows users to browse where in the city jobs are located, and whether they are close to public transit routes, childcare, and other services.
The idea for the online, one-stop-shop job board came from a similar site launched in February to help people in Windsor and Essex County find employment. The London region jobs site was developed by the Elgin-Middlesex-Oxford Workplace Planning and Development Board in partnership with the City of London and the Ontario Government. It cost a total of $45,000, with the province, the city, and area communities each kicking in $15,000. The site is meant to better connect job seekers and employers in the London area and help improve the city's overall employment rate, which is currently the worst in Canada.
“We know that part of the reason we have so many not employed is that London attracts many students, as well as thousands who need our healthcare and social services expertise. The other reason, and the more concerning one, is that thousands of our residents who need work have become discouraged and have stopped searching. They need help connecting to jobs. And that’s where this new site can assist,” Mayor Holder said in a statement. “This is by no means a silver bullet. Instead, think of this as another arrow in our quiver.”
The launch of the site comes two days after a report from the mayor's London Jobs Now task force declared a "jobs crisis" in the city. The 12-page report cited a disconnect between those looking for work and employers with job vacancies. It stated a need to better engage the city's so-called "hidden unemployed”, people between the ages of 25 to 64 who currently don't have work and aren't activity looking for a job. The site was among the task force's four recommendations to help fill the current 8,695 job openings across the region.
