Talks underway to keep popular Yukon job site open
The Yukon government and the Yukon Work Information Network, better known as YuWin, are discussing a proposed funding agreement that would allow the website to continue serving the territory’s job seekers.
However, if a deal is reached, the website would serve a different purpose than it currently does.
As it stands, the popular job board posts several new positions across the territory each day. That would continue until March 31, 2017 to allow time for employers to transition to the Canada Job Bank.
But YuWin would also turn its focus to becoming a service provider with an aim to strengthening relationships among small and medium businesses, the Department of Education and the Yukon labour market, according to a news release yesterday.
YuWin would also liaise with Yukon businesses to “increase the understanding of, and access to, programs and services designed to meet stakeholder needs.”
Additionally, it would host information sessions to help businesses become more familiar with the federal government’s job bank.
In January, the Yukon Department of Education faced criticism for cutting the funding to YuWin.
The department’s advanced education branch had been funding the website for the past four years.
But that agreement officially ended yesterday.
At the time, Education Minister Doug Graham said the decision to cut YuWin’s funding was made after an evaluation of the website was completed last year.
Up until 2014, YuWin seemed like a better option for the department, employers and job-seekers, he said.
But the results indicated the department should favour the federal government’s job bank.
Graham said the job bank website has a number of features that YuWin doesn’t offer, such as allowing job-seekers to create a profile while they’re looking for a job and attempting to match employers with job-seekers who have the skills they’re looking for.
Rick Karp, vice-chair of YuWin’s board of directors, said the website was “absolutely critical” to the Yukon’s business community.
“We have small businesses here and in fact, 83 per cent of them have eight or less employees,” he said at the time.
“For a lot of these businesses it’s tough to post on a national job bank. They need something that gets posted locally, is user-friendly and quick.”