Literacy test floors aspiring street sweepers in Westmoreland
Published:Monday | January 13, 2025 | 12:07 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU
The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is now facing an unexpected hurdle in hiring sanitary workers and street sweepers in Westmoreland, as many of the job-seekers are failing the basic literacy tests.
Mark Jones, the public cleansing manager for the NSWMA’s Western Parks and Markets (WPM), made the surprise revelation during the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation’s general monthly meeting recently.
According to Jones, the entry tests for candidates are based on grade-three or four literacy levels, which would have been mastered by grade four, five and six students in the nation’s primary school.
“I can’t go around that,” said Jones, in responding to Councillor Warren Lyttleton, the People’s National Party representative for the Grange Hill division, who enquired about whether leniency could be shown to the applicants struggling with the tests.
“This is basic reading and math at grade three or four, and persons are being challenged in mastering it,” said Jones, noting that the company is having difficulties filling the positions of sanitary workers, previously known as sidemen.
While the need for street sweepers is not as urgent as the demand for sanitary officers, Jones also highlighted the shortage of qualified applicants in that area, underscoring the troubling gap in education and literacy, which is hindering the entity’s efforts to keep communities clean.
“Despite the urgent need for sanitation workers, the authority is struggling to fill positions, highlighting the critical intersection of education and employment in addressing public health and welfare challenges. This pressing issue calls for immediate solutions to support both the workforce and the nation’s waste management efforts,” explained Jones.
In responding to an appeal from the NSWMA, Lyttleton sent several persons from his division to do the job interviews for sweepers in Montego Bay. However, they found the examination component challenging.
“I sent a number of potential street sweepers to Montego Bay, but the people I sent said they had to have too many qualifications,” said Lyttleton, in urging Jones to exercise a level of compassion and ease the hiring process for those applicants.
“They are saying the test is too difficult, so I want you to be a little more lenient on the applicants for the job as street sweepers,” said Lyttleton.