Turn a different corner in life and the hospitality sector might not have benefited from the outstanding contribution of former President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Clifton Reader. The 39-year tourism stalwart had applied to enter medical school before fate intervened and brought him face to face with what clearly was his real calling in life. “I...

The Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) has emerged as a vital platform for promoting the island’s tourism industry and fostering economic growth. An annual event organised by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), JAPEX brings together wholesalers, tour operators, and travel agents with Jamaica’s leading tourism suppliers to conduct business. The event is regarded as the single most important business...

With almost 50 years in television broadcasting, Seaton Richards is a stalwart in the profession. As Senior Production Coordinator at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), he is responsible for all technical matters relating to television production at the State news agency. From Royal and State visits to State funerals and national ceremonies, Mr. Richards has brought some of the most...

Following the success of scores of its recent Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination candidates, the administration of Chapelton Primary School in Clarendon is looking to ensure that student learning challenges wrought by COVID-19 remain a distant memory. Principal, Christine Monroe Walters, tells JIS News that the pandemic had a near-devastating effect on the school, noting that more than half of...

When then seven-year-old Portland Spelling Bee contender Dayton Jennings came up short at the championship in Kingston last year, he made a promise that “I will be back” to take the coveted national title. He has taken the first step in making good on his promise, outlasting 21 other contestants to again emerge Portland champion at the parish finals held...

For 60 years, the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Coast Guard has been safeguarding the nation through the maintenance of law and order in Jamaica’s maritime space. The organisation, which is the naval arm of the JDF, provides “military, maritime capabilities to deter, mitigate and defeat threats to Jamaica and its interests,” says Lieutenant Commander Leonard Wynter. Among the missions executed...

A minor scoliosis diagnosis became the transformative mark in the life of 22-year-old Nickeil Edwards, a Jamaican now charting her way to a nursing career in the United States of America. The disease, which causes an abnormal curving of the spine, is a progressive, incurable condition that can only be reduced or managed. It was brought to Ms. Edwards’ attention...

Flexible work arrangements, or flexi-week, refers to a variable work schedule that affords employees and employers the opportunity to organise the traditional 40-hour workweek as it best suits their needs. The Employment (Flexible Work Arrangements) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, which was passed in 2014, paved the way for the introduction of this system. Divisional Director for Industrial Relations and Allied Services,...

Female workers have been leading their male counterparts in the out-turns recorded in several areas of notable improvements fuelling Jamaica’s post-COVID-19 employment resurgence. The country’s spiralling employment rate, expanding workforce and rapidly plunging unemployment rate have been largely attributed to significantly increased female out-turns. Data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) April 2023 Labour Force Survey show that despite...