NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Employers will now be able to apply and obtain a labor certificate online, with the Vacancy Notice Application now available through the government’s MyGateway portal.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Labor and Immigration Minister Keith Bell said: “The new service will enable employers to apply for a labor certificate, upload all of the supporting documents to facilitate the application, pay for the service and obtain a labor certificate from any place in the world. In addition to significantly reducing the time to process an application, the new system will also allow the staff of the Department of Labor to have digital access that will reduce fraud and attempts by unscrupulous persons to have multiple applicants applying for the same job.”
Bell noted that more than 30,000 work permits are processed each year. A labor certificate (with Notice of Vacancy) is required from the Department of Labor for long-term work permits.
Wayde Watson, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, noted that since its launch in February 2021, the MyGateway platform has almost 85,000 registered users based in The Bahamas and 66 other countries around the world. Some 40 services have been developed and launched for 15 government agencies.
“This particular portal has received and processed approximately 86,000 requests for various government services. There is no doubt that digital transformation will play a key role in the competitiveness of the Bahamas by reducing the cost of conducting business with the government and help to improve the ease of doing business in the country,” said Watson.
Labor Director Robert Farquharson said: “We have a process by which customers would come to the Department of Labor, fill out a paper form, provide copies of an ad, and bring qualifications to apply for a labor certificate which is necessary for a work permit to be approved. That person can now from their home or office upload those things and send it to us electronically.”
Farquharson said that the next step is to ensure that the process of applying for and facilitating trade disputes are also done electronically.
