Labour Ministry To Host Job Fair Dec. 28-30

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) will host another in the series of job fairs to provide jobs for Jamaicans, especially those who are seeking employment in the hospitality sector.

The final job fair for 2021 is scheduled to take place from December 28 to 30.

Speaking with JIS News, Director of the Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE) in the MLSS, Lyndon Ford, is encouraging persons living in Trelawny, St. Mary and Hanover to participate in the event.

He is also making a special appeal to individuals who lost their jobs due to the pandemic and other trained hospitality workers also from the disabled community to visit the MLSS’ employment portal and register through the Labour Market Information System (LMIS) at: www.lmis.gov.jm,

Jobseekers with the skill set, such as: sous chefs, chefs, maintenance technicians, housekeepers, bartenders, waiters, carpenters, plumbers, AC technicians, preventive maintenance managers, maintenance software administrators and restaurant managers are being encouraged to submit an application.

According to Mr. Ford, these are highly sought-after persons in the hospitality industry, and with the country slowly re-opening, there are several job opportunities in terms of vacancies at different hotels across several parishes at this time.

“We are therefore asking persons who have the requisite skills and experience to upload their resumes to facilitate them having access to be a part of our job fair,” he said. Mr. Ford pointed out that only persons who are shortlisted will be invited for an interview.

They will be required to provide original proof of qualification, two references, two passport size photographs, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) number, Tax Registration Number (TRN) and two or more hard copies of their resume.

Mr. Ford reported that the last job fair, held in early December, was a success, with over 70 per cent of the persons shortlisted hired immediately. The MLSS Labour Market Information System provides an avenue for both employers and jobseekers to post jobs and seek employment opportunities, respectively.

Mr. Ford is therefore encouraging persons to utilise the Ministry’s job matching portal to get their skills into this National Skills database, which allows the MLSS to identify persons and then refer those persons, who are qualified, to job opportunities that “we are getting on a daily basis.”

“While I encourage every person in Jamaica to be a part of the labour market information system, I am going to reiterate that it is absolutely important that persons who have been affected by COVID-19, may have lost jobs through redundancies and lay-offs and have the requisite skills to post their resume and utilise the employment portal in terms of the skills database as a means of getting back into the labour market,” Mr. Ford said.