Are employment agencies scams?
Published:Sunday | February 12, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Glenford Smith, Career Writer
QUESTION:
I have been avoiding employment agencies for a while now. However, my lack of success at landing a job led me recently to try one legitimate-sounding agency that I saw with a job advertisement in the Sunday classifieds, advertising for openings at a travel agency. This was a mistake, as it turned out.
Would you advise persons to sign up with certain employment agencies, but take certain precautions, or should we avoid them altogether? Are there any legitimate agencies around? How do we know them differently?
I would also like to know if employment agencies are regulated. Are their activities monitored in any way? Are they investigated for reports of scamming, or any deceptive advertising or under-handed, misleading action? Are there any minimum requirements from them if they are going to advertise for a job opening in the papers, or is there any recourse if there is a suspicion of scamming?
CAREER:
There are legitimate employment/placement agencies in the market. They are one avenue through which many job seekers have found both temporary and permanent employment. It, therefore, would not be wise to avoid them altogether. However, you are responsible for doing your due diligence and taking the necessary precautions to avoid being scammed.
There are some agencies that don't actually require a sign-up fee, while others do. In either case, you need to exercise caution in order to avoid being a victim of unscrupulous schemers.
It seems you didn't do enough background check on the employment agency you signed up with. This is not unusual. An official working in the Employment Agencies Unit of the Ministry of Labour explained why.
She said: "We are having a challenge getting job seekers to do their due diligence before signing up with agencies which purport to offer job opportunities locally and overseas. So many people today are desperate to find a job that some jump at any opportunity, only to realise later that they were scammed. Others simply don't know how to verify whether these agencies are legitimate or not."
It seems a combination of these two reasons have resulted in your experience. So, here, below is some useful information to help you and others who might have had a similar experience.
Private employment agencies are regulated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The Employment Agency Regulations Act 1956 was instituted to govern/regulate the activities of private employment agencies which recruit and place persons in jobs locally and overseas. This act requires that such agencies are duly licensed and subject to government regulation before they can operate legally.
To verify the legitimacy of an employment agency, you may visit the ministry's website - www.mlss.gov.jm - which has a listing of all licensed agencies.
You may also call the Employment Agencies Unit at the ministry - 922-9500-14 - to get this information. Persons from this unit will also assist you, if you believe you've been scammed. All the best to you.
Glenford Smith is a motivational speaker and success strategist. He is the author of a new book 'From Problems to Power: How to Win Over Worry and Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities' . glenfordsmith@yahoo.com