Mayor of Panama promotes job creation through technology and public-private sector partnerships

The mayor of Panama City, Mayer Mizrachi, advocated for job creation through the use of technology as a concrete way to generate opportunities and reduce labor gaps. His words marked the beginning of the second day of the International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, a scenario in which he highlighted the creation of a labor intermediation platform promoted by the mayor's office that is facilitating the encounter between people in search of employment and companies, with real impacts on the generation of formal employment in the capital city.

The head of the capital's municipal government explained that unemployment continues to be one of the country's main social challenges, and that, although the direct generation of employment is not a traditional function of local governments, there is a responsibility to create efficient conditions for the private sector to hire.

In this context, Mizrachi pointed out that the Mayor's Office of Panama implemented an innovative model of digital job fairs, supported by the use of technology developed by the municipality, which allowed making available to citizens more than 25 thousand job vacancies exclusively from the private sector, at no cost to companies or applicants.

The initiative is based on a digital platform for public use, designed as a recruitment system similar to global professional networks (LinkedIn). Through this tool, citizens register their resumes, skills and experience, while companies publish vacancies and filter profiles directly and efficiently.

One of the most relevant aspects of the project is that the software developed was released in open source, which allows other local and national governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to implement it for free.

"Traditional job fairs have low levels of effectiveness. The technology allowed us to eliminate bureaucracy, organize information and significantly increase hiring rates," said Mizrachi during his speech.

"The technology is already created, it is public and can be used by any city that wants to replicate this model to combat unemployment," said the young Panamanian politician, making the software available free of charge to other municipalities in the region.

Panama City's experience positions local governments as key players in public innovation, demonstrating that technology applied with a practical approach can generate tangible social impact, especially in one of the most sensitive issues for citizens, such as employment.