Monique Hepburn, Staff Reporter
PHOTO BY ADRIAN FRATER -
Mary Chambers, chairman of Montego Bay Expo 2004, talks with Montego Bay businessman Mark Kerr-Jarrett (centre) and Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association President Godfrey Dyer, at yesterday's Gleaner Editors' Forum in Montego Bay.
WESTERN BUREAU: THE ABSENCE of suitably qualified persons is said to be impacting negatively on Montego Bay and Jamaica's ability to provide workers for local industries.
As a consequence, business leaders are calling for an
overhaul of the education
system.
"The types of employees that we see on a consistent basis are not job ready," said Andre Dixon, director of operations at Margaritaville Caribbean. He was speaking at yesterday's Gleaner Editors' Forum in Montego Bay, St. James, which formed a backdrop for the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce's Expo 2004, slated to open today at the Montego Bay Cruise Ship Terminal.
"It was imperative that we are able to output an employee base that is able to communicate with the average person," Dixon said. "What are we going to do if we don't have the employee base out of our 2.6 million people?"
LACK BASIC SKILLS
According to Mr. Dixon, his company recently had openings for close to 15 positions and held a job fair for prospective applicants. Roughly 400 persons applied and from that number, only 20 persons were deemed to be job ready. He said the majority lacked the basic skills to function effectively in the positions
on offer.
Mark Kerr-Jarrett, chairman of the St. James Parish Development Committee and chairman of the board of governors of the St. James High School, attributes this phenomenon to the inability of the country's education system to prepare skilled graduates, who are able to apply themselves in the work world.
He said: "Montego Bay is growing and it is growing fairly rapidly but if we cannot turn out of our educational system, people who can fill these positions that are being created, then it is going to be unsustainable."
