Labour Minister Highlights Role of HR Professionals in National Development

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., has underscored the importance of human resource (HR) professionals in building a strong labour force to drive and sustain Jamaica’s national development.

“If we’re going to have sustainable national development, HR is important, because you can’t have sustained national development without having a strong labour force,” he said.

The Minister was speaking during the opening ceremony of the Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica’s 45th annual conference held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Wednesday (February 4).

The association represents hundreds of professionals, management consultants and business leaders from across the public and private sectors.

Minister Charles Jr., in his address, hailed HR professionals as strategic architects of organisational culture, guardians of workplace equity, champions of talent development and navigators of complex labour market dynamics.

He noted that with rapid technological changes and shifting workplace expectations, the role of HR professionals is even more critical.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping job roles… . You have hybrid and remote work models now that have become commonplace, which then demands us to have completely new approaches to how you measure the performance of someone who is in that remote space. It’s a lot of things that HR will now have to think of and envision for the future, not just for the organisation but for the country,” he pointed out.

He said that HR practitioners must be the enablers of that transformation that is required in the country, emphasising that strong HR capacity is inseparable from national development.

“The future that we are collectively shaping, which is one workplace, one employee at a time, one decision at a time, is the future of our country. And so, what we do will define Jamaica’s prosperity for generations to come. Let’s work together,” he told the HR professionals present at the conference.

Referencing the conference theme, ‘Resilient Leadership, Strategic Impact: HR at the Heart of Jamaica’s Rebuilding’, Minister Charles Jr. highlighted the displacement of many employees across Jamaica due to the destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa last October.

He pointed out that with climate change, the frequency and intensity of these severe weather events are expected to increase, causing these displacements to become more frequent.

“Our position must be to adapt as a small island developing state and to prepare ourselves and the HR association… the HR professionals… will have to then start to carve out in your mind what that will look like when we have these climate-related disruptions,” he stated.

He said that the Ministry is prepared to support the association in navigating whatever challenges arise.

“We stand ready to ensure that we can strengthen the labour market information systems, which is important for you and for us to be able to gather the data and to use that in terms of the analysis that will inform our decisions as professionals,” the Minister stated.

He further noted the Government’s commitment to expanding access to skills training and lifelong learning opportunities to equip Jamaicans for the workplace.