Summary of the evaluation of the Job Match service connecting job seekers to Canadian employers

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

On this page

• About the Job Match service
• Key findings
• Recommendation

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About the Job Match Service

Job Bank is Canada’s national employment service, available as a website and mobile app. Since April 2015, the Job Bank online platform provides for new advanced job search features, including the Job Match service.      

Job Match Service connects job seekers with job opportunities based on their education, experiences, skill levels and other criteria. For each match, an algorithm assigns a matching score on the quality of the fit. Upon receiving a match:

• job seekers may view the job posting and apply for it, while
• employers can follow-up with candidates and invite them to apply

Key findings

• Job seekers have positive views on the value-added of the Job Match service with 60% of users recommending it to others. On the other hand, employers and partners views were more critical  
• The effectiveness of the Job Match service is dependent on the completeness of information provided by job seekers. In addition, Job Match is limited by its heavy reliance on the National Occupational Classification system, which was not designed to support sophisticated matching algorithms
• Job Match users are more likely to view a job posting when the matching score is high. However, other factors besides the match score influence employers following up with job seekers
• Employment Insurance claimants who used Job Match and had higher than average job matching scores were more likely to return to work rapidly. However, there is insufficient evidence to attribute this outcome to the Job match service alone  

Recommendations

• Explore approaches to ensure job seekers provide more complete profile information to allow for the opportunity of better job matches with potential employers
• Develop and pilot a promotional strategy for employers to improve the level of awareness of the Job Match service
• Conduct needs assessment with selected employers to develop, pilot and implement features that enhance the Job Match experience for employers