VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Ministry of Employment and Human Resource Planning drew a significant crowd at the International Conference Centre Seychelles on Friday with its inaugural 2026 Job Fair, where 38 employers presented 910 job vacancies to students, graduates, and members of the general public in what officials described as a revamped and more accessible version of previous editions. Minister Idith Alexander, accompanied by senior officials, attended the event, which introduced several new features designed to make the fair more informative and appealing to both job seekers and employers across a range of industries.
The fair is particularly significant given that youth unemployment remains a concern for the Seychelles economy, with the Minister noting that 7.6 percent of the recorded 2.6 percent figure for unemployment represents young people. By providing a structured platform where young Seychellois can meet potential employers in person, learn about recruitment procedures, and explore career pathways across multiple sectors simultaneously, the Job Fair serves as a direct intervention to connect labour supply with labour demand in a single accessible setting.
Minister Alexander explained that the 2026 edition was redesigned to better attract the public and address the gaps that hindered the success of last year’s event, with sessions held on initiatives including the My First Job Scheme, working conditions, the Skills Development Programme, and the Unemployment Relief Scheme. Employers reported encouraging responses, with Scenic Landscaping’s HR and administration manager Birgitta Vidot noting that most applicants were under 25 and that the fair attracted a larger crowd than previous editions. Samantha Hertel from the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission described the fair as exceptionally lively, reporting strong interest in administrative positions and confirming her team had begun collecting names for follow-up on other roles.
Feedback from job seekers reflected a broadly positive experience. First-time visitor Shany Etwar, who had recently completed post-secondary education, said the atmosphere encouraged her and that the fair broadened her career options beyond what she had previously considered. Parent Mairose Pondar, who attended with her daughter, described the fair as genuinely fruitful while raising concerns about documentation requirements that she felt could be restrictive for those without formal qualifications, though she noted that some employers were open to hiring without such credentials.
The Job Fair 2026 is part of a broader government effort to actively manage labour market transitions and reduce structural unemployment, particularly among youth, by improving the visibility of available opportunities and equipping job seekers with information about support programmes. The Ministry plans further recruitment phases following the fair as employers process applications collected on the day.
With 910 vacancies on offer and strong attendance across all age groups, the 2026 Job Fair represented one of the most substantive single-day employment outreach efforts Seychelles has conducted, signalling renewed institutional commitment to addressing youth unemployment.
