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Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Dr. Grace McLean, addresses a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today August 20. Dr. McLean gave an update on the Ministry’s preparation for the new academic year, which begins on Monday, September 1.

Ministry Expects Smooth Start To School Year

The Ministry of Education is taking action to ensure that all primary and secondary schools are adequately prepared for the start of the new school year. Chief Education Officer, Dr. Grace McLean, told a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (August 20),...

State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Arnaldo Brown, giving an update on the Diaspora Mapping Project, at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, held today August 20, at the agency’s head office in Kingston.

Positive Response to Diaspora Mapping Project

Minister of Transport Works and Housing, Hon. Dr. Omar Davies, addresses journalists at a press conference held today (Aug. 20) at the Ministry’s Maxfield Avenue offices, to announce Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) fare increases, which take effect on Sunday, August 24.

JUTC Cannot Operate at Existing Fare Rates – Dr. Davies

President, World Federation of Consuls, Arnold Foote (second left); Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Hon. A.J. Nicholson (third left) and Chief Executive Officer, University Hospital of the West Indies, Dr. Cecil White (right), participate in the cutting of a ribbon to open the ambulance donated to the University Hospital of the West Indies by the Government of Turkey. The unit was handed over on Thursday, August 14 on the compound of the University Hospital of the West Indies. Looking on (from left) are: Member of Parliament for Eastern St. Andrew, Andre Hylton and Hon. R. Danny Williams, who spearheaded the effort to get the ambulance.

UHWI Gets Fully Equipped Ambulance From Turkey

Minister with responsibility for Sports, Hon. Natalie Neita Headley (second right), is greeted by former captain of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), Ruddy Williams (left), during the opening of the Ruddy Williams Centre of Excellence at the MCC headquarters on Courtney Walsh Drive in Kingston, on August 19. Also pictured is: President of the MCC, Mark Neita.

Cricket Summer Camp for Children at Melbourne

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier (fourth left), cuts the ribbon to symbolize the official re-opening of the Ministry’s newly renovated Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE) offices, during a ceremony at its North Street location in downtown Kingston on Tuesday, August 19. Also participating (from left) are: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Alvin McIntosh; Senior Social Protection Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Donna Harris; and Principal Labour Market Specialist, IDB, Jacqueline Mazza. The ELE is the core component of the Ministry’s Labour Market Information System (LMIS), which is a web-based data and information source for job search and placement.

12 years ago Labour

Labour Ministry’s ELE Upgraded to Provide Improved Service

Users of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE) can now enjoy improved services, following the opening of its renovated offices, on Tuesday, August 19. Located at the Ministry’s North Street building, in downtown Kingston, the offices are now fully equipped with modern equipment. It was refurbished at a cost of $8 million through funding from...

Health Minister, Hon. Dr Fenton Ferguson (right), discusses the day’s programme with Head of the Conference of Parties Convention Secretariat, World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tibor Szilagyi (left), and PAHO/WHO Representative in Jamaica, Margareta Sköld, at a meeting which the Ministry hosted with the visiting team from the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to gather information from stakeholders on the implementation of the Convention in their programmes, strategies, and plans. The forum was held at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston, on August 19.

12 years ago Health & Wellness

Health Ministry Hosts Meeting With WHO on Tobacco Control

The Ministry of Health, today (August 19), hosted a meeting with a team from the Secretariat of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to gather information from stakeholders on the implementation of the Convention in their programmes, strategies and plans. The parties are also examining the challenges and opportunities, and identifying gaps which require intervention....

Deputy Managing Director with responsibility for Operations at the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), Kirk Finnikin, explains the new arrangements for accessing concessionary fares with the use of Smarter Cards, as of September 1, at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, on August 19.

12 years ago Transport

Only Smarter Card Can Access Concessionary Fare Come September

As of September 1, 2014, concessionary fares on Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses can only be accessed with the use of a JUTC Smarter Card. This was disclosed by Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations, Kirk Finnikin, at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, on August 19. Mr. Finnikin said the concessionary fare is accessible to four categories of passengers...

Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites (right), is in discussion with Senior Director for Workforce Development and Employment at HEART Trust NTA, Denworth Finnikin on Aug.19, during an education symposium at the Sts. Peter and Paul Church Hall in St. Andrew.

12 years ago Education

Assess Students Entering Grade Seven – Rev. Thwaites

Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, has charged secondary school principals to ensure that teachers do a careful assessment of each student entering grade seven before the start of instruction. This, he says, will give them a better understanding of the areas, which will require special emphasis and focus, including the need for remedial work. “Please make sure that...

Executive Director of the Growth Secretariat at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Joseph Cox, displays a Financial Information & Real-time Matchmaking (FIRM) brochure at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, at the agency’s headquarters in Kingston, on August 19.

12 years ago Finance & Public Service

Entrepreneurs Assured of Confidentiality at Matchmaking Expo

Entrepreneurs hoping to participate in the first Financial Information & Real-Time Matchmaking (FIRM) expo are being assured of the strictest level of confidentiality when they pitch their business plans to potential investors. A collaborative initiative between the public and private sector, FIRM is a proactive response to the problem of accessing financing in Jamaica, by establishing a financial matchmaking model...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Arnaldo Brown, addresses the launch of the Mapping Jamaica’s Diaspora Project on August 15, at the Island Cuisine Restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland. Seated (l-r) are: Maryland House of Delegates Representative, Shirley Natham-Pulliam; Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Stephen Vasicannie; President of the Jamaican American Bar Association (JABA), Joan Pinnock; and President of the National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organizations (NAJASO), Rick Nugent.

12 years ago Foreign Affairs

Jamaicans Urged to Participate in Online Survey for Diaspora Project

Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Arnaldo Brown, is encouraging Jamaicans living abroad to participate in the online survey for the Mapping Jamaica’s Diaspora Project. Speaking at the Baltimore launch of the project on Friday, August 15, Mr. Brown said the initiative, which is expected to run for 18 months, is geared towards creating...

Sherine Mullings Hughes (centre), is congratulated by Pastor of the Kitson Town Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Circuit of Churches, Wayne Smikle (2nd right), on her performance in the Caribbean Secondary Education Council (CSEC) tests. Looking on (from left) are: Vice Principals of the Kitson Town SDA Evening Institute, Granville Deleon and Errol Martin; Principal of Westmore College in St. Catherine, Leanora Taylor; and Chairman of the College, Dr. Horace Wright.

12 years ago Community

Second Chance for High School Dropout

A St. Catherine mother of two, whose formal education was interrupted at age 15, is today a proud academic achiever, with a scholarship, and is on course for a brighter future. Sherine Mullings Hughes, who hails from Top Mountain near Kitson Town, passed the four subjects she sat in this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) tests, three with distinction...