Labour Minister urges business community to continue to invest

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, is commending the business community for investing in the country over the years and urged members to continue to work with the Government to create jobs and reduce unemployment.

“If you don’t invest, we cannot export; if you don’t invest, we cannot find jobs…,” he said.

Minister Charles was addressing the board of directors of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) at the Secretariat offices on Wednesday (February 9).

In the meantime, Mr. Charles said the Ministry is engaging in a “massive re-examination” of the workforce to certify persons and make them more marketable.

The process, he said, will ensure that employers have access to the most qualified persons within the fields that they require.

Minister Charles further encouraged members of the PSOJ to make use of the National Skills Bank to identify job seekers throughout the country.

The skills bank, which can be accessed at www.lmis-ele.org.jm, provides employers and investors with a database of available skills.

The web-based system is aimed at assisting in the effective mobilisation of human resources, and facilitating the monitoring of occupational trends and changes. It also seeks to promote productivity and competitiveness and provide information and analysis in decision making at the policy level.

It is a crucial component of the Ministry’s Labour Market Information System (LMIS), which has been revamped to provide information on the labour market and facilitate job placement and other services.

The skills bank also provides for greater accessibility to labour market data about the economy, population and labour force.

CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON