Country Producing Qualified Persons for Insurance Industry – Shaw

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw has said that the country is producing qualified persons capable of addressing the skills shortage, which currently exists in the local insurance industry.
Speaking at a brief ceremony at Marathon Insurance Brokers Limited’s New Kingston offices on May 29, to formally introduce the company’s new General Manager, Jane Francis, Mr. Shaw said that local tertiary institutions were turning out individuals capable of filling openings that exist.
“While there are acknowledged deficiencies in terms of this particular (insurance) industry, the fact is that we have the base (to fill these). We have several universities that are turning out graduates who, most definitely, are trainable. We have graduates coming out with their Bachelors degrees and so on, in the finance sector, in accounting, and in insurance. And what they need, therefore, (is) that extra edge of support, that extra edge of professional development and training,” Mr. Shaw said.
Commenting on concerns raised regarding the new work permit regime for foreigners taking up employment in Jamaica, as outlined recently by Labour and Social Security Minister, Pearnel Charles, Mr. Shaw said: “It’s not so much a tunnel vision approach that he (Charles) is taking, because the government fully understands the need for us (to be flexible). It’s a question of establishing priorities, and we are doing that.”
“I don’t want anyone to believe that the government, or the Minister of Labour, is entertaining any notion where they are seeking to block an inward migration of technology and skills. We are most certainly not doing that,” the Minister emphasized.
In her brief remarks, Mrs. Francis announced plans to implement a training programme at Marathon, “that will help redress this situation (of the skills shortage).”
“I am deeply committed to the achievement of professional qualifications through the Chartered Insurance Institute which, in turn, leads to the attainment of chartered status. These qualifications will assist in the recognition of Jamaica as a serious player within the global market,” she said.