By Assan Bah
Baboucarr O. Joof, the Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, has informed Foroyaa that they expect to have the first batch of workers to the Kingdom of Spain by early 2025.
He said: “The recruitment process will start when the GoTG received the list of available jobs from the Kingdom of Spain through diplomatic channels. The jobs list in agriculture will be communicated to the public through the Public Employment Services Unit of the Department of Labor. The first batch of workers may leave for the Kingdom of Spain early next year in 2025.”
Asked about the recruitment process the Minister said: “The recruitment will be done by the Government of The Gambia through the identified public institution, in this case Department of Labour of MoTIE [Ministry]. There will be no involvement of private recruitment agencies as per the signed MoU.”
He said the implementation of this MoU will be entirely handled by the relevant public institutions of the two countries. “The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration will deal with the companies in Spain. The implementation of this MoU will be handled by relevant public institutions of the two countries. There will be no involvement of private entities in the whole scheme.
He highlighted that a report on the recruitment process will be prepared after completion of the recruitment process, saying that it will be signed by both authorities as specified by the MoU.
Asked about the criteria for the recruitment, he said: “The criteria for the evaluation and selection of candidates will be informed by the profile and requirements of the jobs that will be communicated to this Ministry by the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
“So, the criteria as it relates to skills will be provided in the job notification that will be provided by the Kingdom of Spain before recruitment starts. Therefore, the selection will be based purely on those requirements,” he said.
The Minister further said: “Candidates who match the profiles and requirements of the available jobs would be selected for the jobs as stated in the MoU.”
He however, said: “The MoU did not give projection of the number of workers to be recruited from The Gambia. However, the notification on the general job offers that will be sent from Spain will provide details of job profile, condition of employment and the number of candidates that would be shortlisted.
“Since this is a pilot, our expectation is that it will start with a reasonable number depending on the demand of the agricultural sector of Spain, and the number will increase in subsequent years depending on the level of compliance with the provisions of the MoU and the terms of employment contracts
Foroyaa enquired if there is any provision for the acquisition of skills while in Spain? “The MoU does not have such a provision. However, we expect that those recruited would be given a job training to be able to carry out their job as expected,” he responded.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly of the Gambia on Saturday, 19 October, 2024 ratified and adopted the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Circular Migration between the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of The Gambia.
This MoU according to the Minister is aimed at providing a legal path way for Gambians wishing to seek seasonal employment within the Kingdom of Spain and said is in line with government’s objective of creating employment opportunities for Gambians within and outside the country to reduce unemployment and underemployment.
