Tourism expansion may call for imported labour in specialised areas – former JHTA president

WESTERN BUREAU:

Former Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association (JHTA) president Wayne Cummings believes that with the large number of tourism projects being proposed for the near future, there may well be a need for imported workers for the industry.

“I actually believe that there are certain categories of workers that we may need to import. I believe, however, that a carte blanche is not the answer,” Cummings told The Gleaner.

Cummings, who is now chief executive officer (CEO) of the Arya Group of companies, expressed his view during a presentation at the Hanover Charities Annual Grant Ceremony, held at the Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Hanover on Monday.

The matter of imported labour has been hotly debated in recent months, with strong opposition coming from the island’s labour unions.

But with some 20,000 new hotel rooms expected to become available in the next five years, and with 35,000 hotel rooms now available in the tourism sector, Cummings questioned where workers would be found to fill the vacancies.

He said that with the new road infrastructure, parishes such as Portland and other locations on the eastern end of the island will start to benefit from tourism.

“The question is, if we are going to grow this industry so quickly, where in heaven’s name will the good workers be coming from at the pace at which we are opening these new hotels?” he queried.

Cummings pressed his point by referencing the low unemployment rate in the locations of some of the new hotel investments.

“There are lots more persons in jobs than ever before, but I would say that that is not the full story. The full story is that there are lots of persons in parts of Jamaica that need jobs but not necessarily located where they are needed to be employed,” he stated.

He listed parishes such as Clarendon and St Thomas as areas in need even as major investments target already established tourism areas. Cummings said, “There is a disconnect between where the people are, and where they are needed.”

TERTIARY-LEVEL STUDIES

In a Gleaner interview following his presentation, Cummings suggested that some of the larger hotels may even need to think about housing accommodation for their staff.

“I know there is a conversation of which I am a part (and) that has already begun about possibly creating dormitories in the large parts of the tourism sector. So that what we can do is bring persons in, allow them time to settle, and from there to find accommodation for themselves,” he noted.

Describing the tourism sector as the most stable, most profitable and impactful industry Jamaica has ever seen, Cummings argued that Jamaicans must prepare themselves, their children and communities to support the industry.

He also addressed the issue and need for tertiary-level studies for work in the industry, arguing that when it comes to career focus, very few Jamaicans are thinking about tourism.

“Very few are applying for hospitality and tourism courses to the point where the UWI Montego Bay Campus struggles to find persons to do tourism courses. Montego Bay, the capital of tourism, finds it hard to find youngsters to enter into the tertiary programmes that will directly support the tourism sector,” he said.

Cummings said the problem is not that the young people are not interested in tourism, instead, it could be that their passions run counter to what persons in the tourism industry think they should do.

“Asking people to go and study hospitality and tourism is the wrong thing to do because we need other professionals within the industry,” he emphasised. He added that the tourism industry has a place for persons in almost every other profession.

“Do you know how many engineers are not engineers today but they are the best general managers the world has ever produced because they are critical thinkers?” he stated. He referenced several other professionals who he says have found productive employment outside of their career training.

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