PIOJ Growth-Inducement Strategy - Planning Institute of Jamaica

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Human Resources: Training and Certification 65
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Jamaican labour force continues to be characterized by low levels of training
and certification; and unemployment continues to be a problem.
1.2 On the demand side of the labour market, the rate of unemployment remains high,
with mounting job losses during the current recession. On the supply side, there exists
significant weakness in the level of training and preparation for entry into the world of
work among the early age cohorts. There is also a notable mismatch between supply of
skilled labour and available jobs in segments of the labour market.
1.3 This note identifies the gaps in the education and training system as related to the
labour market and offers some policy recommendations aimed to improve labour market
outcomes in the short and medium term. The longer term problem of building up the
human resource base starting from the earliest ages is not addressed.
2.0 Labour Demand and Supply
2.1 Table E.1 shows select labour-force indicators for the period January 2009 to July
2010.
2.2 Between January 2009 and July 2010 there was a point-to-point reduction of
28,900 persons in the employed labour force. Since the official start of the recession in
October 2008, the employed labour force declined by 65,300 persons. In July 2010, the
unemployment rate stood at 11.6 per cent. Employment losses were concentrated in the
areas of Construction, Mining, Manufacturing, Education and the category of Private
Households with Employed Persons. The diversity among these industries suggests the
need for varying approaches in the effort to re-train displaced workers for adapting to
emerging job opportunities.
2.3 The proportion of the labour force that is certified remained low and fairly stable
over the period (an annual average of 20.1 per cent in 2009 and an average of 20.9 per
cent in the first three quarters of 2010).
2.4 Table E.2 shows that the highest level of unemployment occurs among the agegroup
of 25 – 34, which are the prime working years.
65 In consultation with the Human Development Unit, Social Policy Planning and Research Division, PIOJ.
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