Jamaica Opposition voices concern over plans to import skilled labor
Key Points(5)
- Jamaica’s opposition People’s National Party (PNP) criticized a statement by Prime Minister Andrew Holness hinting that his administration is examining the possibility of importing skilled workers to the island for upcoming developments.
- “We have placed <a href="https://tms.heart-nta.org/onlineApplication/AppForm.aspx?offId=ef9ca056-c5e6-4c92-a5d8-a6694c998e4a">HEART on alert</a>… that we are going to have to find these people, put them in a streamlined mechanism to get them trained and provide them very quickly.
- If we don’t do that, then there can be no complaint if we have to import labor into the country.
- And we are seeing an increase in requests for labor, particularly skilled labor, in the country,” Holness said at a ground-breaking ceremony for a new hotel in Trelawny, Jamaica last Wednesday.
- She said that thousands of Jamaicans have completed related training programs at Heart/VTDI but have not received their NCTVET certification.
Jamaica’s opposition People’s National Party (PNP) criticized a statement by Prime Minister Andrew Holness hinting that his administration is examining the possibility of importing skilled workers to the island for upcoming developments.
“We have placed HEART on alert… that we are going to have to find these people, put them in a streamlined mechanism to get them trained and provide them very quickly. If we don’t do that, then there can be no complaint if we have to import labor into the country. And we are seeing an increase in requests for labor, particularly skilled labor, in the country,” Holness said at a ground-breaking ceremony for a new hotel in Trelawny, Jamaica last Wednesday.
But in a statement, the PNP said that Holness announcement comes at a time when the government has announced several training programs, which sought to train and certify over 20,000 youth in various skills.
PNP chairperson Dr Angela Brown Burke said that during the last six years, Prime Minister Holness ought to have been aware and should have taken into consideration the current situation of available skilled labor on the island and ensured that Jamaican workers would be trained and certified to fill the gap.
She said that thousands of Jamaicans have completed related training programs at Heart/VTDI but have not received their NCTVET certification.
“These youngsters constitute a ready pool of qualified workers and apprentices. This automatic default to foreign workers will be vigorously protested.”
The PNP chairperson said that Prime Minister Holness’ statements are an admission of failure and incompetence on his part being the Minister in charge of the HEART/NSTA TRUST and the Minister who recently presided over the restructuring of the entity which resulted in the decimation of the workforce-based and community-based training departments.
“The Opposition agrees that the recent mismanagement and pillaging have robbed this potentially powerful institution of its capacity to respond to the expected demand but remains hopeful that with some planning and creativity HEART can be restored to its former capacity to meet the needs of our current labor market,” the PNP added.
CMC/
