Use Training to Improve Country’s Competitiveness

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies, has exhorted graduates of the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) to use their training to help Jamaica become more competitive in the global market.
Dr. Davies, who was addressing CASE’s 10th annual graduation ceremony held on November 24 on the college campus in Portland, said that the training provided by the institution had equipped students to contribute to the country’s development.
According to the Finance Minister, globalization and unemployment were two of the most critical challenges facing Jamaica at this time, making it extremely important for the country to devise strategies to create a world-class workforce that would place the country on the cutting edge of global competition.
He therefore urged the graduates to use their training to gain employment and to increase and improve the productive capacity of the country.
Declaring that the long-term solution to Jamaica’s social and economic problems laid in the systematic application of higher and better levels of training and education, Dr. Davies expressed confidence that Jamaicans were capable of successfully confronting the challenges to national development and to make the country the economic powerhouse it had the potential to become.
The Finance Minister said he was pleased with the progress that the college had made in its 10 years of existence, and encouraged the management of the institution to continue to upgrade the facilities in order to ensure that the training offered remained relevant to the needs of the country.
Earlier in the function, President of CASE, Dr. Paul Ivey gave an overview of the institution’s performance for the past academic year, and thanked the members of the ancillary, administrative and academic staff for their contribution to the college’s success.
Among the achievements were the development of a new strategic plan, the improvement of aspects of student support services and facilities, the strengthening of the administrative and institutional governance process, the facilitating of staff development, engagement in research activities and the rendering of public service to the wider community.
A total of 330 students were presented with bachelor and associate degrees and diplomas during the function.