The administration is riding the digital wave with its eAC online services program (the “e” stands for e-government, while AC is the French abbreviation for unemployment insurance). In order to provide more effective support for both job-seekers and employers, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is making a big effort to digitalise unemployment insurance services.
The “work.swiss” portal
The “Job-Room” service
Work.swiss is a product of the efforts to harmonise various existing internet sites as part of the eAC online services program. Work.swiss is the labour market equivalent of the Swiss army knife, offering a wide range of information and services for job-seekers, employers and employment agencies, as well as for institutions and the media. The “Job-Room” and “Amstat” (labour market statistics) services provide a vast array of basic data on employment in Switzerland.
The work.swiss portal is already an effective and functional tool, but there is still enormous potential to develop this platform. Consequently, scope for improvement is constantly being examined The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is working hard to digitalise various processes related to the use of forms. The aim is to enable job-seekers to perform online job searches and to send applications online to a regional employment centre. Digital services like these offer tremendous benefits for everyone involved by improving accessibility, flexibility and processes. In addition, structured, guided data input enhances data quality.
In 2016, a political mandate paved the way to speed up development of the “Job-Room” service: since the Swiss parliament made it obligatory to advertise vacancies, the necessary technical infrastructure had to be created. Job-Room offers a privileged search function: job-seekers registered with the regional employment centres have 5 days advance access to vacancies posted in accordance with this obligation.
As it becomes more attractive, this service is increasingly being used by people looking for employment. The same is true of registered employers. Since July 2018, they have had specific access to Job-Room, enabling them to manage their vacancies, search for candidates and establish direct contact with job-seekers. Most employment agencies, which have had access to this service for even longer, are registered with Job-Room.