The Transition of Jamaican - International Labour Organisation ...

Job Preferences
Table 3.8 provides information on the job preferences of youth. The most popular
job preferences for the youth are:
a) To start a business
b) Work for government/public sector
c) Work for large private sector company
However, a large percentage (22.7 per cent) was ‘not sure’. Approximately 38.3
per cent of Employed youth and 27.2 per cent of Not Working youth fall into this
category. Some 31.2 per cent of youth interviewed preferred to start their own
business. As expected, this was the main preference for self-employed youth (66.7
per cent). The second preference was to work for government/public sector (18.7
per cent), with in-school youth more in favour of this option. The third choice
was to work in a large private company (12.9 per cent). This was least preferred by
the self-employed. This choice might be related to the expectations among youth
of higher levels of remuneration.
Table 3.8: Job Preferences by Category of Youth
Response
Category of Youth
In-School Not Employed Self-
Working
Employed
Average
Start Own Business 19.3 23.1 15.6 66.7 31.2
Work for Government or Public Sector 32.6 19.6 16.6 6.0 18.7
Work for Large Multi-National Corp. 12.3 5.7 6.8 0.6 6.4
Work for Large Private Company 16.1 14.2 14.6 6.7 12.9
Work for Small Private Company 4.0 6.2 5.1 1.1 4.1
Work for Family Farm or Business 2.0 2.0 2.5 4.4 2.7
Not Sure 11.0 27.2 38.3 14.2 22.7
Do not Know 2.4 1.9 0.0 0.6 1.2
Others 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.0 0.3
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
THE TRANSITION OF JAMAICAN YOUTH TO THE WORLD OF WORK
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