Finance Ministry Addressing Staff Retention at STATIN

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says steps are being taken to ensure that the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is able to retain its highly qualified staff, so that the agency can continue to effectively carry out its mandate as the country’s principal statistics agency.

He pointed out that STATIN’s employees are being heavily recruited overseas, particularly by Caribbean territories that are developing national statistics databases and platforms.

“Our professionals are often seen as well trained and attractive candidates… suitable for acquisition,” Dr. Clarke pointed out at a recent STATIN media sensitisation seminar at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St. Andrew.

“STATIN’s employees are held [in high regard] for their professionalism and knowledge… and for their technical expertise, by other countries. So we are going to look at job descriptions and commit to evaluating them… to see if we can use that method to solve the particular problem that they are under,” he added.

He further emphasised that “[we] have to respond to make sure that we are competitive here, in Jamaica [in this regard]”.

STATIN has a mandate to produce and publish official statistics on the activities and condition of the people of Jamaica.

Government ministries, departments and agencies; corporations; households, and the general public are required by law to provide access to information and/or submit same for this purpose.

The seminar, which was held under the theme ‘Statistics and the Media –Why Understanding Official Data Matters’, was aimed at assisting media practitioners to understand, interpret and present official data accurately.

It focused on the gross domestic product (GDP) and consumer price index (CPI).