JobJar connects laid-off tradespeople with Calgary homeowners looking for 'skilled doers'
Unlike Kijiji, website guarantees small jobs like painting and patching done properly
A broken bathroom tile, loose baseboards and hideous peach-coloured walls in the basement — those are just a few of the things that can really irritate some homeowners.
If the list of to-do's around your house is piling up, it may be time to reach into the JobJar.
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That's the name of a new online database that connects Calgary homeowners with handy people who are looking for work.
JobJar calls them "skilled doers" and already has the contact information for 1,300 listed on its website — from retirees to tradespeople in the oilpatch who have recently been laid-off.
"There are a lot of people who are unemployed and actually, they can do these sort of jobs," said JobJar owner Naomi Pereira.
She came up with the idea a few months ago when she was trying to whittle down her own to-do list, but couldn't find a general contractor interested in doing a bunch of small jobs.
"They have bigger fish to fry."
Pereira saw a need for a one-stop shop that will match people who want to do those kind of jobs with those who need them done.
Different from Kijiji
While there are plenty of handymen advertising their services on Kijiji — there is no guarantee the job will be done right.
"There's no security. All you can do is hope for best," Pereira said.
She says JobJar will "stand behind" whoever they recommend.
"We're going to vet the people who are going on our website. They're going to have a criminal record check and we're going to make sure that if they say they can do something — they do it with quality."
She'll be doing that by checking out the work they've done on previous jobs and calling their references.
Homeowners will also eventually be able to rate skilled doers on the JobJar website.
"It's nothing to do with big construction or renovations at the moment. So, very small tasks."
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Pereira is still looking to add at least another 1,200 skilled doers to the database. Handy people sign up directly through the website.