Australian Job Search (AJS) is a free, comprehensive and innovative job posting and matching service provided by the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business (DEWRSB). It is a suite of computer applications and services whose main strength is the variety of ways that it is delivered to users. It is a free and easy way for employers to recruit staff and is ideally suited for Local Government to gain wide exposure for its job vacancy advertisements.
The Internet
The AJS flagship is its Internet site called Australian Job Search www.jobsearch.gov.au, which regularly features in the top 20 web sites in Australia and is the top Australian employment site.
The site was launched in 1996, and its rapid growth in usage means that the Department is now starting to focus its entire strategy around Internet access.
AJS Touch Screens
Job seekers without Internet access can access AJS services by a number of other means. The key one is via a network of 2,200 touch screens across 760 sites in Centrelink and Job Network Member premises, which provides job seekers with access to a database averaging 60,000 jobs.
It also provides national exposure of job vacancy advertisements to thousands of job seekers.
Multi – Media Payphones (Telstra Kiosks)
Access to the service is also provided via Telstra’s network of multi-media payphones, currently being rolled out in Sydney and Adelaide with over 200 units to be installed by March 2000.
Recruitment Services for Employers
Many employers use AJS to advertise their job vacancies. At present both the Commonwealth and Australian Capital Territory Governments use AJS to advertise their job vacancies.
Employers and recruitment agencies are able to use the service to advertise jobs free of charge by lodging their job vacancy over the Internet at lodgeajob.dewrsb.gov.au/ or by contacting a help service on 131715 or fax (02) 6262 7158.
Any jobs lodged via these services are automatically advertised via all the service delivery mechanisms ensuring that they are highly visible.
Employers can also lodge job vacancies through the Job Network which has the facilities for advertising jobs across the network making these jobs highly visible to a wide range of job seekers in a wide variety of locations.
Local government can use these services free of charge and gain wide exposure for their job vacancy advertisements.
Job Seeker Resume Service
Job seekers can lodge their resumes on AJS via the Lodge a Resume service www.jobsearch.gov.au/resume/lar_menu.asp.
These resumes are available for employers to view and are electronically matched to jobs lodged on the system and job seekers advised of vacancies that match their skill set.
Employers can access these resumes and search for suitably skilled job seekers. Employers can then contact the job seekers via email to arrange for further information or job interviews.
Regional Australia Access
DEWRSB is also looking to further extend access options for the network and is working with the Government’s Regional Transaction Centre initiative to provide access to the service across a wider range of rural locations.
Next step is a jobs futures service
The Department has invested heavily over the years in analysis of employment trends. The idea is to turn this information into a valuable career planning tool. Students interested in a career in, say, engineering or journalism will be able to access extensive analysis of future prospects in these fields. It will also detail the qualifications required.
The site will also offer job seekers a catalogue of jobs based on their current skills. Another idea is to offer job seekers the chance to post a ‘this is me’ notice inviting responses. In the future, it will move from kiosk/Internet to Internet/TV/datacasting.
The prospect of job seekers being able to access the database from their TV set via datacasting opens a whole new world of self service and jobs registrations and greatly widens the exposure of job vacancy advertisements.
AJS will continue to be an innovative, comprehensive and free way for employers to meet all their recruitment needs.
Click here to visit the Australian Job Search web site
