The Transition of Jamaican - International Labour Organisation ...

public education programme be developed to market the activities of the Ministry
of Labour & Social Security (MLSS) – Labour Market Information System/
Electronic Labour Exchange (LMIS/ELE) island-wide. The programme should be
introduced to all schools and training institutions through job fairs, career days
and other career guidance initiatives. The mode of marketing these services
should be multifaceted involving the use of the media, billboards on wheels, cable
companies, and social marketing using cell phones. Employers should simultaneously
be targeted by the marketing programme to maximize the use and effectiveness
of the system for matching job supply and demand.
Number of Jobs Applied for and Interviews attended
In addition, One-Stop
Job Centres could be
established islandwide
to assist youth
in the development
of job-search skills
including resume
writing and interview
techniques
On average, most youth (54.7 per cent) applied for 1–2 jobs, and attended one
interview. The data also showed that 58.6 per cent of the Not Working Youth had
attended no interviews, 30.0 per cent attended 1–2 interviews and 11.3 per cent
attended 3 or more interviews. This might be related to one of the concerns of
youth that some employers discriminate against applicants who reside in innercity
communities. It is recommended that programmes be developed to address
some of these issues. These could include the sensitization of employers through
agencies such as the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF) and the Private Sector
Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) on the issues impacting youth employment. In
addition, One-Stop Job Centres could be established island-wide to assist youth
in the development of job-search skills including resume writing and interview
techniques.
Within the formal system, it is recommended that career centred learning be
introduced from the primary level and that real life linkages be made with careers
and subjects taught at the secondary levels. In addition, schools should provide
training in key employability skills for all students including skills related to
punctuality, time management, communication, leadership, dress and deportment,
courtesy/politeness, self-presentation, organisational skills, stress-management,
personal hygiene and professionalism and other soft-skills relating to how
to obtain and retain a job.
Conditions necessary to find suitable jobs
It is obvious that there is recognition among youth of the importance of professional
education/skills training as a precursor to finding suitable jobs. Among all
the groups, “technical skills certification”, followed by “professional qualification”
and “computer science” skills was recognized as important for finding suitable jobs.
THE TRANSITION OF JAMAICAN YOUTH TO THE WORLD OF WORK
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