Labour Market Forum 2010 - Planning Institute of Jamaica

Simply put, the policymaking process must be inclusive,
responsive, and open to the input of the younger generation
who will be most affected.
The second point is that we must build on our strengths.
Jamaica has to recognize that there are areas that we will
never be competitive in such as the mass production of
widgets.
The story is often told of the Jamaican trade delegation that
visited a South Korean garment factory in the 1980s and was
impressed with how the women never even looked up from
their sewing machines as the Jamaicans passed by. Can you
imagine that level of discipline and focus in a Jamaican
factory?
Today most of that type of manufacturing takes place in China
as South Korea has moved up the value chain to high-tech
manufacturing and services, and as efficient as the Chinese
have been, they are now finding that competitors like Vietnam
and Bangladesh are stitching clothing at an even lower cost.
Jamaicans will never sufficiently subject ourselves to the
monotony and low wages that this type of mass production will
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