‘It’s brutal:’ employer frustrated with SaskJobs site update

Since the SaskJobs website was recently taken over by the federal government, a Saskatchewan employer says it has changed from being user-friendly to confusing.

David Powell, who helps manage The Ice House restaurant in Emerald Park, said since the province integrated the site with the national job bank, he hasn’t been able to connect with any potential employees.

“Before, the person applying for the job would click on my email and send me their resume. Now, I don’t even get to their resume — I don’t even see it,” he explained. “It’s brutal.”

Being in the hospitality industry, Powell noted it’s common to be regularly searching for more staff, and SaskJobs used to be the best place to do it because it was always fast, free and easy to use.

He said he has spoken to others in the restaurant industry who share the same concerns.

“I would post a job on there, then by three days, I’d already be interviewing people. With this new system, it’s been three weeks and I haven’t even seen a phone number yet,” he said.

Now, in some cases, Powell said he’s had to look at paying to post jobs online. However, he added he wouldn’t mind opening his wallet if that meant being able to use the old format again.

“If it’s an expense thing, my employer and I have talked about it, and he said he would pay to post jobs on the old system because sometimes you’d get resumes within half an hour,” he explained.

Powell said he’s so frustrated with the SaskJobs website update, he has even written letters to the province about it. However, he said he’s still in the dark as to whether any changes will be made.

The site now asks job-seekers for additional personal information — including their mother’s maiden name, birth year and social insurance number — in order to register to be matched with job notices. The newfound need for that information has had the provincial privacy commissioner raising some concerns.