JOB-A JOB-A - The first-ever online job portal in Bhutan

To bridge the gap between the employees and employers, under the initiative of the Royal Office for Media, His Majesty’s Secretariat, the Job-a Job-a platform was launched on His Majesty’s Birth Anniversary, 21st February 2021.

Launch of Job-a-Job-a Portal

As of today, the unemployment rate in Bhutan stands at 2.39% with an increase of 0.04% compared to 2019. One of the factor that leads to the increase in unemployment rate in Bhutan is due to the jobseeking patterns of youths in Bhutan. Most youths tend to look towards seeking white-collar jobs that are limited in the country.

Although there are both skilled and unskilled labors looking for job opportunities in the country, job seekers seem to fail to connect with employers because of the lack of information on available vacancies. To bridge the gap between the employees and employers, under the initiative of the Royal Office for Media, His Majesty’s Secretariat, the Job-a Job-a platform was launched on His Majesty King Jigme Khesar's Birth Anniversary last month.

When COVID-19 pandemic hits the country and lockdowns were in place, most employers have started to shun walk-in application for jobseekers. Identifying the opportunities to help connect prospective employers and jobseekers faster, the Job-a Job-a portal was started.

Platform for Jobseekers in Bhutan
While job portals and job boards are common in many parts of the world. Job-a-Job-a is the very first job portal in Bhutan that allows for immediate job application online.

The mission of the platform is to facilitate youths to take up informal jobs to earn an income while strengthening their skills and capabilities. It also strives to promote work ethics among the Bhutanese workforce via digital footprints and build a trusted brand in human resources. The platform aspires to facilitate prospective job seekers and employers online and for the hiring process to happen quicker.

Job-a Job-a is available on both web and app. The platform allows users to keep an up-to-date profile, list their skills, experiences and expertise. Through the platform, jobseekers can easily browse through available vacancies and apply for a job. One can quickly search through the portal and look for vacancies in the different categories based on their interests, skills or expertise. Aside from white-collar jobs, the platform also allows for jobseekers to apply for one-time assignment or part time jobs. This will help attract youths to take up adhoc labour jobs to earn extra income aside from their regular jobs. Similarly, the Human Resource personnels in a company can also easily look through the available prospective candidates through the platform.

The platform also provides a secure online payment mechanism that protects both employers and employees. The platform helps to facilitate financial transactions in a secured manner where employers can make a deposit on the portal for any job offer available. Once a job is completed, payment will be released to the jobseeker. There is also a rating system that allows both parties to rate each other after a job is marked as complete. The testimonies and reviews will help the employers and employees to build credibility for future references.

Traditionally, Bhutanese seek for employment through newspapers, word-of-mouth or spend hours scouting the internet. Hopefully with the centralised online job portal, it can help reduce the unemployment issue in the country.

What's in the name Job-a Joba-a?

The name is derived from the dzongkha language ‘Joba joba – meaning ‘fast- faster’. The name aligned with the mission and vision of the platform to deliver the services faster than any other online platform in the country.

Well-received responses

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