By Ayanna Kirton, Staff ReporterA KEY factor behind the country's high level of unemployment is the low level of preparedness of job seekers, said Herbert Lewis, president of the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF).
Mr. Lewis voiced his concerns to this month's recipients of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Job Creation Awards ceremony. The monthly award ceremony was held at the Terra Nova Hotel in St. Andrew yesterday. Jamaica's high level of unemployment is, "a very troubling situation", Mr. Lewis said. Last year only 17,000 people were recruited out of a pool of 140,000 unemployed, noted the JEF president.
The lack of employment was a result of several factors, most common of which was the level of education of prospective employees, he said. According to Lewis the number of persons who are able to meet the basic academic requirements necessary to qualify for an entry level position in the average company is very low.
NON-JAMAICANS
Citing the recent recruitment exercises of JAMALCO as an example, Mr. Lewis said the bauxite company began its search locally to fill some 1,500 positions but had to resort to hiring 200 non-Jamaicans. This, he said, was because local applicants did not possess the educational requirements necessary for the positions available. The JEF president said the situation was a product of Jamaica's low pass rate in English Language and mathematics at the CXC level, which has stifled many chances for recruitment and inhibited the pursuit of higher education as passes in those subjects are mandatory for entry into any of the island's tertiary institutions.
Mr. Lewis appealed to the entrepreneurs present to assist in the provision of training and education to members of the communities in which they operated their businesses. This assistance, he said, would not only lead to gainful employment but would also help to stem the social exclusion, inequality, crime, low levels of productivity and other social ills associated with unemployment.
This month's recipients of the Cable and Wireless sponsored PSOJ Job Creation Awards were Hi-Lo Food Stores, Pablo's Fabric, and proprietors of Popeye's Chicken & Seafood Restaurant Associates Cajun Limited.
The PSOJ stages the monthly awards ceremony to recognise companies that have created a minimum of 25 jobs within the last six months. Beginning May 2004, an additional award will be presented by the PSOJ to long-established businesses that have withstood the economic challenges and have provided jobs for a 70-year period or more.
