Suriname's commitment to modernise Public Employment Service (PES) with ILO technical support

In response to Suriname's rapidly changing economic and labour market situation, the Ministry of Labour, Employment Opportunity and Youth Affairs is taking significant steps towards transforming its employment services and programmes to improve labour market transparency and facilitate transition.

These steps aim to enhance existing systems and services to increase the labour market efficiency by connecting more job seekers with available vacancies. Additionally, the Ministry plans to introduce both specialised and digital services to reach more beneficiaries, including disadvantaged groups such as youth, women, indigenous and people living with disabilities.

In collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organisations, the employment services are now designed to mitigate the negative impacts of the ongoing economic, technological and demographic transitions. Suriname is one of the few countries in the Americas with a robust legal and a policy framework to support transformative public employment service. The country has ratified key ILO Conventions, including Employment Service Convention (C88) and Private Employment Agencies (C181). As part of domesticating the conventions, the Labour Exchange Act was amended in 2017, and the Private Employment Act was adopted in the same year. Further, the labour policy and Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) prioritised reforming public employment service to meet the growing demand for improved services for job seekers and employers.

In response to a request from the Ministry to address the situation, the ILO is collaborating with the Labour Market Department to provide technical guidance for developing a Public Employment Service (PES) capable of offering more effective employment services, including digitalising services such as job placement and career advice.

To lay the groundwork for the new PES, ILO Caribbean Employment and Labour Market Specialist, Abdelmalik Muhummed, and ILO-HQ Employment Services Specialist, Francois Dumora, facilitated a series of strategic discussions from 14 to 18 October 2024 involving key government personnel.

“The ILO is pleased to support the Labour Market Department on this important initiative, which will lead to a more efficient labour market transitions benefiting both workers and employers. Employment service is now more crucial than ever to respond to the country's economic development by facilitating efficient and effective transitions for the unemployed, underemployed and left-behind groups. We will collaborate with the Ministry and social partners to promote global and regional best practices, particularly in enhancing the governance, service delivery mechanisms, capacity building and partnering with diverse stakeholders involved in the labour market performance,” explained Abdelmalik Muhummed.

“This mission was of high importance for us because the roadmap should be seen as a strategic document that provides guidelines for the implementation and improvement of the Employment Service, that supports both job seekers and employers in matching supply and demand on the labour market,” said Naomi Friperson, Deputy Director of the Labour Market Department.

Relatedly, consultations were held with private employment agencies in Suriname to explore potential collaborations in areas of information sharing through labour market information, labour laws compliance and service delivery innovations. The modernisation equally recognises the importance of integrating employment services, active labour market policies and social protection schemes and systems.

The workshop resulted in a comprehensive roadmap outlining the steps needed to operationalise the improved PES. Key milestones include rebranding the employment services through a full-service employment structure in Paramaribo and beyond, developing an interconnected web portal for job seekers and employers, and launching a brand strategy that includes creating a dedicated digital instrument.

The ILO Caribbean Office will continue to work in collaboration with the Ministry and social partners towards the implementation of the roadmap towards a more comprehensive and better functioning PES under Priority 2 of the DWCP: Livelihoods, human capital, and a skilled workforce.