Employing foreigners
published: Wednesday | July 26, 2006

The Editor, Sir:

I wish to say thanks to Mr. Spencer for raising the issue of 'foreign workers' in Jamaica. I must agree with him that the urge to employ foreigners is too overwhelming and this is one of the things, as he says, creating disharmony in the country. What gets to me is that they usually pay these 'foreigners' more than they pay their own local counterparts who are sometimes more adept at doing the job, evident in the success achieved by Jamaicans when working overseas. Though I agree with Mr. Spencer, I must say that in some ways we contribute to the problem because we tend not to realise that the 'brethren thing' doesn't work anymore.

Gone are the days when someone will employ you on the basis of skills without having a certificate to back that up. Though HEART and other skills training agencies are there to equip the workforce with the necessary skills, I think more needs to be done to get more of our young men into these institutions so that at least we can achieve optimum population. This is especially needed in light of the fact that we usually do well when the opportunity arises and also it will encourage patriotism while building the idea of 'buy Jamaica, build Jamaica' and will perhaps encourage those who leave unwillingly for 'greener pastures' to stay.

I am, etc.,

NADINE DOWNER

enidan73@yahoo.com

Via Go-Jamaica