Labour Ministry Preparing Youth for Workforce

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s monthly Employability Skills Workshops are helping to prepare prospective employees for the workforce, says portfolio Minister, Hon. Shahine Robinson.

 The workshops are being conducted under the Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE) Programme.

“This is one way of empowering our youths in particular. As our rate of employment continues to improve, we will continue to have more people seeking jobs,” she said.

The Minister was speaking at the ‘Labour Department and You’ road show reception held recently at the Sea Garden Resort in Montego Bay, St. James.

The ELE, which started in 2002, is one of three components of the Labour Market Information System (LMIS), a job-matching facility that offers free online and offline services to employers and jobseekers.

These include résumé writing, interview preparation, entrepreneurial workshops and access to a database of skilled workers.

Prospective employees who utilise the facility benefit from employability skills sessions, which are preparatory training workshops where employers and partners of the ELE make presentations and provide feedback.

Meanwhile, Minister Robinson noted that social dialogue, involving employers and trade unions, is “alive and well in western Jamaica”.

“It (social dialogue) is the cement that binds us together, and it is what will determine our goals for the future. Let us strive to continue on this trajectory as we build a harmonious industrial relations climate,” she urged.

Let us continue this synergy through which we continue to create opportunities for partnerships and collaborations that will foster the type of Jamaica that we want to see – the place to live, work and raise families, do business and even retire,” the Labour Minister said.

The road shows are aimed at bringing the services of the Ministry’s Labour Department to citizens across the island as well as to heighten awareness of its programmes and policies.

Events have already been held in the parishes of Manchester, St. Ann and Kingston.