By Ayanna Kirton, Staff ReporterFOUR COMPANIES were recognised by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) at the organisation's 29th Job Creation Awards Ceremony held at the Terra Nova Hotel, St. Andrew, yesterday.
This month, awards were presented to Guardsman Armoured, NCB Capital Markets, British Caribbean Insurance Company (BCIC), and Grace, Kennedy & Company Ltd. Both Guardsman Armoured and NCB Capital Markets received awards for their contribution of some 25 new employment opportunities while BCIC received the Small Business Award for creating five jobs. The fourth award was presented to Grace, Kennedy for its contribution to job creation for over 70 years.
COMMUNITY WORK
Guest speaker at the awards, Francis Kennedy, chief project officer for Grace, Kennedy, used the occasion to highlight the company's experience in community development as it worked to help uplift the depressed communities that were located in the company's environs.
The community outreach programmes, which Mr. Kennedy said focused more on empowerment and less on charity, are implemented under the auspices of the Grace, Kennedy Community Development Foundation and seek to encourage improved levels of education, community service, income generation, and health among the residents of the neighbouring communities.
Now in its fourth year, the PSOJ Job Creation Awards are held in partnership with Cable and Wireless Jamaica and are held monthly to award the spirit of entrepreneurship and to recognise local companies in various sectors for their contribution to employment. These jobs must be created without the assistance of the Government.
