Jamaica House Fellow Dedicates Talents to Public Service

While many young people shy away from a career in the public sector, Annabelle Jones has set her sights on becoming a career civil servant.

She has always been interested in public service, but her decision on a career path was concretised after participating in the Jamaica House Fellowship Programme.

Miss Jones comes from a diverse academic background, holding a first degree in Chemistry and was a Scientific Researcher at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus.

She recently completed a Master’s in Public Policy and Management and is also an educator.

She tells JIS News that it was the experience of being a Jamaica House Fellow, working at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, that enabled her to focus her talents, which she intends to dedicate to public service.

“I intend to remain in the public sector and I intend to remain at the Ministry of Health and Wellness. The Jamaica House Fellowship Programme provided me with clarity to know where I wanted to go in terms of staying in the public service. It confirmed the passion that I have for public service as well as social development,” she says.

Miss Jones is among seven bright, young Jamaicans, who participated in the second cohort of the programme, which was installed in November 2020.

At the Ministry of Health, she was first assigned to the Office of the Permanent Secretary and later to the Policy, Planning and Development Division.

During the two-year programme, she contributed to various policy initiatives, among them the establishment of the St. Thomas Teen Hub, development of a National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy, and the transfer of the St. Joseph’s Hospital from the Ministry to the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA).

“I was instrumental in drafting and reviewing the programme document for the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy. I was instrumental in revising a previous concept paper, as well as drafting the necessary Cabinet documents seeking approval for the development of the Policy,” she tells JIS News.

Ms. Jones says she was also exposed to the drafting of the COVID-19 vaccination implementation plan.

Reflecting on her time in the programme, she tells JIS News that the experience has given her valuable insight into the processes of governance.

She says that the Jamaica House Fellowship gives young professionals an opportunity to actively engage in critical aspects of national development.

“It (ensures) that young persons participate in governance and have a say at the table; that their involvement is not tokenistic, but that they have a real role to play in the development of Jamaica, so that the country can achieve its Vision 2030 goals,” she says.

Economist and Financial Services Professional, Mikol Mortley, who was also a part of the second cohort of Jamaica Fellows, was initially assigned to the National Commission on Violence Prevention (NCVP) in late 2020 before being placed at the

Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). He worked closely with those agencies to draft critical project documents.

At the NCVP, he participated in the development of the entity’s strategic plan, which was approved in late 2021, and had oversight for reports looking at the cost benefit of violence and violence prevention.

“Those reports looked at a comprehensive cost benefit analysis of how much violence cost and then looking at what economic indicators we can use to track crime statistics,” he explains.

Another project he worked on was the buildout of the enterprise risk management framework for the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

At the PIOJ, Mr. Mortley assisted in monitoring the labour market and the mining and quarrying industries.

He tells JIS News that his experience in the programme has provided valuable insight into government processes, particularly against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which presented a unique set of challenges to governance systems.

He says he also had an in depth look at the challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises and their value to economic development.

The other young professionals who were selected to participate in the second cohort of the Jamaica House Fellowship Programme are Asha-Gaye Cowell, Christopher Harper, Jervian Johnson, Kiddist McCoy, and Christal Parris-Campbell.

The initiative aims to attract well trained, highly qualified young professionals to the public service by facilitating first-hand experience in governance and policy, thereby exposing participants to the internal systems and mechanisms of government.

The programme engages Fellows for a period of two years as paid, full time personnel assigned to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) or Government Ministries where they work alongside senior technocrats.

It enables participants to see in real time, the development and transition of concept into policy and legislation, and to make tangible contribution to national development.

The Fellows, who are selected from a pool of applicants, work on high impact projects, which address impediments to Jamaica’s growth and development. Participants also work alongside other Fellows and Ministry staff.

The third cohort of Fellows will be recruited in the next financial year.