Labour Market Forum 2010 - Planning Institute of Jamaica

We have to also bear in mind that our national leaders are
“Baby Boomers” while the majority of the workforce is from
Generations X and Y.
The Generation Gap is real and even if our leaders could, and
many don’t, understand what drives Generations X and Y,
policymaking must be underpinned by a process that ensures
the input and participation of these generations.
The nature of the policymaking process that will be required to
meet the needs of future generations of Jamaicans can be
compared to the development of “Open Source” software i.e.
where many developers contribute to its continuous
improvement. The successes of the Linux and Android
operating systems are examples of this approach. The growth
and development of the successful on-line encyclopaedia,
Wikipedia, is another.
Recent developments have demonstrated that while there will
always be a role for “leaders” and “experts”, top-down
policymaking will not be as successful as a bottom-up
approach that responds to the market.
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