By Dhurata Thanasi*
Self-employment, short-term projects and abound contracted work on the Internet, especially for IT professionals, graphic designers, accountants, journalists, photographers, etc.. The Internet already has fostered a thriving job market for independent workers or “freelancers”, many of whom provide work and provide it only virtually.
This phenomenon that is promoting “The New Economy” has already established markets around the world that produce billions of dollars and brings about the imperative issues as the growing demand for free agents skills, Guru-s of technique, and independent professionals. Many people already want to work from home, and thousands of sites in the world that provide care for a freelance job contract or allow this type of service. As global economies continue to struggle with creating jobs, online work in 2011 flourished with 650,000 new jobs posted on best world specialized websites, with an accumulated profit of 500 million dollars spent. One of the most powerful portals in the world, Elance, achieved strong growth of businesses and the employment a great number of Internet professionals with more than 120%.
For the first time in Albania, such a tool comes through PREXAlbania the first portal that enables virtual communications of Service Seekers with the experts or Service Providers of any category. In this portal, anyone will be able to compete, solicit or offer appropriate services online, separated by categories based on professions or post projects and tenders. Created by ALCDF, the Albanian Local Capacity Development Foundation, PREXAlbania served from the very beginning as a virtual match-meeting place for tendering procedures and grant management of the Foundation.
Thanks to the free membership to PREXAlbania, specialists, engineers, economists, tour operators, forestry farmers, farmers, NGOs or local government bodies, businesses, could to observe in real time every step of the tender procedures or projects development, and virtually participate in a completely transparent process.
But how it works PREXAlbania? What brings together a forestry engineer who works in the village of Diber region, a young man who recently graduated Business Administration, the Mayor of Permet, who needs a strategic development plan for the municipality that governs or a young girl who became a mother for the first time? PREXAlbania is an alternative to solving the problems of these people. By joining quite simply and insert all necessary data will be possible to create a Professional Profile.
The more accurate and complete the professional profile is the more marketable the registered individual, company or entity will be on the market. Many will be able to choose the desired field or profession through multiple categories and subcategories, by offering or requiring services, information or expertise. Based on these data, each registered entity on the portal will enable the creation of the site or its profile and quite independently to launch his bid to any service..
The forest engineer in Zerqan could offer his expertise about forestry management plans to 20 communes in the District of Diber, the graduate student may request to perform an internship in the 10 best companies in Albania who seek an intern to business market research, the Mayor of Permet may select online the best “strategists” of territory development plans and the newly mother give the possibility to continue the career and growing up her baby.
Only during the past year, PREXAlbania recorded around 1300 specialists of different professions, entities, NGOs, small and medium businesses, 87% of whom have been able to secure a job simply by getting registered in PREXAlbania portal.
Participation in tendering procedures led to the generation of a total revenue of about 250 thousand Euros, where the cost of work for an Albanian expert rated from 40 to 50 euros per day. Farmers, only by announcements made on the risk of “Chestnut cancer”, could prevent the disease in about 50 acres of land and avoid “mediators” thanks to technology expertise and knowledge by adding value to their business and money.
This kind of virtual exchange has created not only the possibility of a transparency in the process but has enabled accessing of services in remote corners of Albania, stimulating the demand for information technologies where previously was not and has given equal opportunity to participate various projects or jobs to trades and specialists that until recently, for various reasons, could be left out projects, opportunities or initiatives, by their colleagues from the capital city.
In a world more and more digital, PREXAlbania portal comes as an innovative and efficient opportunity, in the hands of anyone who is looking to a prosperous future.
Do not forget to write – PREXAlbania.com and the next job is one click away from you!
(Business Manager at ALCDF, dhthanasi@alcdf.org)
