News Detail

MEDIA RELEASE
MLSS PR Unit November 18, 2020

Mayne wants Jobseekers to Up-Skill Themselves To Re-Enter Labour Market

labour ministry with coat of arms

Public Relations Unit

1F North Street, Kingston

Tel: (876) 967-5484

Fax: (876) 948-2831

 

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

 

Mayne wants Jobseekers to Up-Skill Themselves To Re-Enter Labour Market

State Minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Zavia Mayne, says workers and jobseekers should re-skill and up-skill themselves in order to re-enter the Labour Market.

“Workers need to seek out new skills and opportunities in order to add value to businesses, as this is critical for many unemployed and displaced workers to successfully re-enter the competitive Labour Market,” Mayne said.

According to Minister Mayne, despite the rise in unemployment in Jamaica as a result of the COVID-19, the pandemic has increased the demand for other occupations.

“COVID-19, has created a demand for persons in other industries such as Health and Wellness, Information Technology and Cyber Security. We have seen an increase demand for Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, Respiratory Therapists and Chiropractors,” he said.

Minister Mayne also pointed out that remote work has contributed to growth in the Information Technology sector. He explained that there has been a growing demand for Software Developers, Programmers and Software and Hardware Engineers.

He was speaking at the Inter-American Development Bank Regional Policy Dialogue under the theme, Rethink, Reset and Recover Employment with a Gender Perceptive on Tuesday, November 17. According to data released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), unemployment rate stood at 12.6 per cent in July 2020. This was 4.8 percentage point higher than the 7.8 per cent recorded for same quarter in 2019.

The Ministry’s Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE) Department, has been conducting virtual training of jobseekers to ensure that they are job ready.

 

 

 

 

Contact: V George Palmer, Dir. Public Relations & Communications (876) 820-5373 or (876) 967-5484
|Email: vando.palmer@mlss.gov.jm/prunit@mlss.gov.jm
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