Growth & Jobs | JSEZA offering youth employment opportunities

Jamaican youths, particularly those in rural and inner-city communities, have long bemoaned the lack of employment opportunities, which impairs their social mobility.

For many, their time is spent on the corner feeling like social rejects - marginalised. They are angry, and this is often manifested in anti-social behaviours.

"I've seen where persons have got a few weeks' employment, and they no longer have a mindset to sit on the corner and idle. Persons are motivated to work, but we need the job opportunities," a resident said at a recent The Gleaner On the Corner Editors' Forum.

She said that the lack of job opportunities was the primary cause of gambling and other "unproductive activities" in Jamaica.

But the Jamaica Special Economic Zones Authority (JSEZA) is pointing to huge opportunities for employment in the special economic zones (SEZs).

A major problem is the shortage of skills. However, there is a move by the JSEZA, its partners, and tertiary and vocational institutions to train Jamaicans to take up lucrative positions within these SEZs.

JAMAICANS TO REPLACE CHINESE ENGINEERS

Some 52 young engineers are being trained in China in technical skills and Mandarin, and when they return to Jamaica, they are to replace the Chinese engineers at the Alpart plant in Nain, St Elizabeth.

Chief Executive Officer of JSEZA Dr Eric Deans said that when Alpart, acquired by Chinese firm Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company, was reopened, it employed 600 Jamaicans and 60 Chinese engineers. It is these Chinese engineers that the Jamaicans are to replace upon learning the language and receiving exposure to the technology used in the alumina plants at Alpart.

It is an initiative made possible with the input of the University of the West Indies, the University of Technology, and the Caribbean Maritime University.

Dr Deans wants the marginalised youths to recognise that there are opportunities beyond what the regular academic qualifications can provide.

"Investors are going to be building a new LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal. It requires specialised welders. These welders earn up to US$180 an hour, but we don't have sufficiently trained or certified welders here," Dr Deans said. "So I encourage persons interested in these opportunities to go out and become certified in aluminium welding and stainless steel welding. If not, these jobs may go to foreigners."

... Young people must learn specialised skills - Dr Deans

Head of the Jamaica Special Economic Zones Authority (JSEZA) Dr Eric Deans said that young people should be prepared to learn how to do electronic welding and other specialised tasks so that they can benefit from the opportunities in areas such as electronics assembly. He gave examples of youngsters in the Montego Bay Free Zone who were assembling medical devices.

Dr Deans said that part of the JSEZA mandate is to ensure that companies building the zones take into account not just their economic demands, but their social and environmental requirements within the communities.

"We are party to the Sustainable Development Goals to deal with things like reducing poverty, and so, we try to instil those values in the investors that we attract," he said.

He said companies are encouraged to introduce not only training programmes, but apprenticeship and internship programmes as well.

"We work with the tertiary institutions to ensure that skills that are necessary are available because we want to make sure that Jamaicans benefits from what is happening in the zones. The immediate benefit comes from employment," Dr Deans said.

Dr Deans' message to disgruntled, on-the-corner youth: "Think outside the box in terms of what you are able to do. There are a range of skills that are needed in these industries, and you can start the process with easy steps such as using the Internet to find out more about these industries. That can help you to choose the appropriate training programme that the employers will be offering."