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Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, emphasizes a point while addressing a recent parents’ consultation meeting at St. Elizabeth Technical High School in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth.

Primary Schools Janitorial Grant to be Increased

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will be doubling the janitorial grant allocation to primary schools when the 2016/17 academic year commences in September. Currently, each of the over 200 institutions receives between $30,000 and $40,000 per annum for...

Governor General, His Excellency, the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen (3rd left, standing); and Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left, standing), look on as Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Caribbean Country Department General Manager, Therese Turner-Jones (left seated) and Chairman of Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) Limited, Joseph Matalon (centre), shake hands following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the New Employment Opportunities for Youth In Jamaica (NEO-Jamaica) project launch at King’s House on June 3. Others looking on (from 2nd left standing) are: Head of Corporate Relations, Red Stripe, Diane Ashton Smith; Director General, Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Colin Bullock; Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ), Dennis Chung; Executive Director, YUTE, Alicia Glasgow Gentles; and General Manager, Caribbean Cement Company Limited, Alejandro Vares (right, seated).

New Employment Opportunities for Youth in Jamaica

Project Cycle Management Specialist, European Union Unit, Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Marjorie Stair (left), addressing a recent JIS Think Tank, at the agency’s head office in Kingston. Listening keenly is Senior Veterinary Officer and Technical Manager in the Veterinary Services Division of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Winthorph Marsden.

EPA Project to Further Boost Jamaican Exports

Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Hon. Derrick Smith (right), and Ambassador of Panama to Jamaica, His Excellency Alexis Sandoval (centre), peruse Zika information pamphlets being displayed by National Health Fund (NHF) promotions agent, Ammoya Sundar, during a health and wellness fair at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in Kingston on June 3.

Jamaicans Encouraged to Adopt Healthier Lifestyles

Local Government Minister, Desmond McKenzie, removing debris on a street as part of a clean-up campaign earlier this year.

Portland Clean-Up Underway

Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC), Sharonmae Shirley, addressing a JIS Think Tank, at the agency’s head office in Kingston, on Friday, June 3.

10 years ago Commerce

JANAAC to Mark World Accreditation Day on June 9

The Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) will commemorate World Accreditation Day, on Thursday, June 9, under the theme: ‘Accreditation: A Global Tool to Support Public Policy’. The celebration includes a week of activities that gets underway on Sunday, June 5, with a national church service at Calvary Gospel Assembly on Molynes Road in Kingston, starting at 10:15 a.m. This...

State Minster in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, the Hon. Floyd Green (2nd left) and Chairman of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Dr Charles Douglas (2nd right), shake hands following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish 4-H Clubs in public schools across the island, on June 2, at the Ministry’s National Heroes Circle offices in Kingston. Others pictured are (from left) - Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Maurice Smith; and Executive Director of the Jamaica 4-H Club, Dr Ronald Blake.

10 years ago Education

Education Ministry Partners with 4-H Clubs

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information yesterday (June 2) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jamaica 4-H to establish clubs in all public schools, from the primary to tertiary levels. The MoU will strengthen the Ministry’s School Feeding Programme through which students are provided with nutritious meals and snacks to encourage regular attendance and boost learning capacity. Speaking...

Finance and Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, emphasises a point while addressing the Public Investment Management System (PIMS) launch and sensitization forum at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston, on June 2. Listening keenly is Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Deputy Director General, Richard Lumsden, who chaired the function. ( File Photo)

10 years ago Finance & Public Service

Civil Servants to be Trained in Project Administration

More than 150 civil servants are to be trained in project administration under the Government’s enhanced Public Investment Management System (PIMS). The exercise forms part of the administration’s undertaking to further enhance the Ministries, Departments and Agencies’ ability to better manage government projects under the PIMS, thereby increasing their contribution to Jamaica’s economic growth. The training is slated to be...

Commissioner of Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA), Major Richard Reese.

10 years ago Finance & Public Service

JCA Warns Against Scammers

The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) is urging the public to use licensed customs brokers when importing or exporting goods. Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner of Customs, Major Richard Reese, in an interview with JIS News, said the Agency has received several reports of individuals who have been scammed by persons claiming to be licensed brokers. “We do have instances where...

Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck (at podium), addresses the launch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) computerized criminal records system, at the Police Officers’ Club on Hope Road in St. Andrew, on June 3. Sated at the head table (from left) are: Communications Consultant with the Ministry of National Security, Mark Thomas, who chaired the function; and Project Executive with the United Kingdom-based ACRO Criminal Records Office, David McKinney.

10 years ago Justice

Criminal Records System Computerized

The Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) criminal records system is now computerized. Installed at a cost of approximately $98.1 million (£545,267), with funding from the United Kingdom (UK) Government, the electronic database replaces the manual format of documentation at the Criminal Records Office on Duke Street in Kingston. The facility now enables the JCF to streamline the collation and storage of...

Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen (centre), converses with recipient of the Jamaica Institute of Management (2009) 2015 Manager of the Year and Fellows Award, Mr. Grantley Stephenson (right) and recipient of the Jamaica Institute of Management (2009) 2015 Entrepreneurship and Community Development Manager of the Year and Fellows Award, Scarlette Gillings during a ceremony at King’s House on June 2. Mr. Stephenson is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kingston Wharves Limited and Mrs. Gillings is the former Managing Director of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).

10 years ago EducationGovernor General

JIM Urged to Continue Developing Leadership Programmes

Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, is urging the leadership of the Jamaica Institute of Management (JIM) (2009) to continue developing creative academic programmes that will enable the island’s leaders to better manage their respective organisations. “The Jamaica Institute of Management (JIM) is making leaders of individuals and I therefore urge you to continue the education needed...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (right), listens as Team Leader, Chemistry Department, Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ), Dwyte Bremmer (second right), highlights some of the capacity building interventions that have been undertaken in food testing laboratories under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Capacity Building projects with the European Union (EU). The Prime Minister was viewing a display which was mounted at an export forum at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston on June 2. In the background (from left) are: Head of Operations for the Delegation of the EU to Jamaica, Achim Schaffert; Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Colin Bullock; and Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda. The forum, hosted by the PIOJ, aimed to highlight the work carried out over the years under the EPA Capacity Building projects with the EU to strengthen Jamaica’s quality infrastructure and food safety systems.

10 years ago CommercePrime Minister

PM Confident Exports will Improve

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, is expressing confidence that the country’s capacity to export will improve within the next two years. He attributed this to a number of strategies being put in place to enhance Jamaica’s access to international markets. The Prime Minister was addressing an export forum held at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston on...