is this the big strategy...is he fi real..wat a bloody joke?

[evanovitch]

<span style="font-weight: bold">Gov't optimistic Jamaican workers will benefit from jobs created in the US</span>


Friday, January 02, 2009



Government is optimistic that some of the expected 2.5 million jobs to be created by United States President-elect Barack Obama will spill over and create opportunities for the Jamaican workforce.

<span style="font-weight: bold">As a result</span>, Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles said the Government will be investing in training in order to prepare persons to take up jobs when they are made available.



&quot;<span style="font-weight: bold">Over there (United States of America), the president-elect is looking to put 2.5 million workers back to work, and we expect that will create some jobs that we will get,&quot; </span>he said, adding that the Government would be &quot;certifying, training and getting ready for an assault on some of these jobs&quot;.

Charles also pointed out that the labour ministry is currently negotiating with representatives of the United States Congress to reinstate that country's annual quota of employing 66,000 overseas workers. According to the minister, this would significantly help the nearly 11,000 unskilled workers who are currently unemployed in Jamaica.

He said that while there are no signs that the US would want the kind of agricultural workers that Jamaica would provide, more often than not the US is usually unable to sufficiently meet the requisite number needed for its workforce.

&quot;We haven't had any signs that the Americans would want the kind of agricultural work that the Jamaicans or other Caribbean island workers are doing, like picking apples. But, like everywhere else, when things get tough, people may go for other jobs.

We get these jobs, because the Americans cannot fill these jobs in their workforce or don't have the workforce to work in these areas. So, we are optimistic that as things turn around in the United States, there will be a greater demand for workers,&quot; the minister said.

Obama, in a speech last November, outlined an economic recovery plan which he said, among other things, will save or create 2.5 million jobs by January of 2011.

[evanovitch]

Re: is this the big strategy...is he fi real..wat a bloody joke?

so one country's try at stopping its umemployment is fi dem plan fi help out Ja's unemployment...well i have now heard it all fi real

[evanovitch]

Re: is this the big strategy...is he fi real..wat a bloody joke?

As tourism job fallout looms large ...Workers urged totap niche markets
Published: Friday | January 2, 2009


Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer


WESTERN BUREAU:

With Jamaica's tourism industry already feeling the effects of the global economic downturn, some key stakeholders say there could be new opportunities for hotel workers who are now facing job losses.

President of the Hanover Chamber of Commerce, and promoter of the Caribbean Health Tourism and Spa Conference, Theo Chambers, <span style="font-weight: bold">is optimistic that workers can capitalise on their own talents and acquire skills.</span>

&quot;We have to acknowledge that during economic depression and catastrophe, there are economic opportunities that exist as land and equipment become cheap. So this could be a good time to capitalise on that,&quot; Chambers said.

<span style="font-weight: bold">He also urged jobless Jamaicans to join forces with friends, pool skills and resources and access loans to kick-start their own businesses.</span>

&quot;Workers will need to reassess their skills and capitalise upon what they are good in,&quot; Chambers told The Gleaner. &quot;When people lose their jobs, it is a good opportunity to go into business and so hotel workers could look at going into areas they are already skilled in, such as catering or restaurant operating.&quot;

imminent effects

President of the Hanover Parish Development Committee, Angela Haye, supports Chambers' position. She said tourism workers will have to be proactive and prepare for the imminent effects of the economic slowdown by being on the lookout for new opportunities.

&quot;Tourism workers, and Jamaicans in general, should think outside of the box. Look at non-conventional ways of making an income, not just thinking primarily about getting a job, but their own businesses, creating niche markets,&quot; Haye said.

&quot;As human beings, change can be scary and can cause anxiety, so you have to understand that everything has a life cycle and you have to understand that cycle and how it works and that will help us to be prepared.

&quot;I think tourism workers should stay focused, get additional training, get requisite training and educational skills now and look forward to the future. They can't be complacent.&quot;

The advice comes in the wake of mega hotel chain Sandals Resorts International's laying off of 650 workers throughout the Caribbean, including 285 employees from its Negril, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios properties last month. Speculation is rife that a soft winter tourism season will trigger more job cuts across the island.

Alternative employment

Hospitality and tourism lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Damion Crawford, said while tourism workers should pursue alternative means of employment, government intervention might be necessary to stem layoffs.

&quot;When you lose your job you need something else to do immediately. That is, unless we put an interim welfare programme in place,&quot; Crawford said.

&quot;What should also be done is that Government should give a tax incentive to middle-class Jamaicans, or to all Jamaicans, to stay in these hotels, thereby creating a buffer demand to assist in hotel workers keeping their jobs,&quot; he added.


<span style="font-weight: bold"> an di huge savings dem supposedly put away from dem high paying jobs gwine to afford dem to retrain, pool funds etc etc etc</span>

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: is this the big strategy...is he fi real..wat a bloody joke?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">so one country's try at stopping its umemployment is fi dem plan fi help out Ja's unemployment...well i have now heard it all fi real </div></div> I told you they still think as a colony.
nothing gas changed since cthey say the country became independent, as far as the politicians are concerned.
They are just wautung tio be declared failed and returen to open colonialism.

[evanovitch]

dwl dwl dwl dwl...a no mi one see di joke of all dis

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/html/20090104T210000-0500_144452_OBS_EDITORIAL_CARTOON.asp

[Gen]

Re: is this the big strategy...is he fi real..wat a bloody joke?

this is why mi nuh fallow up yard news/politics enuh, cause mi KNOW seh dem dont have a lick a sense. misguided set a eediat dem and very <span style="font-weight: bold">depressing</span> to read the fawt dat come outa dat place.

[britisha]

Re: is this the big strategy...is he fi real..wat a bloody joke?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">so one country's try at stopping its umemployment is fi dem plan fi help out Ja's unemployment...well i have now heard it all fi real </div></div> I told you they still think as a colony.
nothing gas changed since cthey say the country became independent, as far as the politicians are concerned.
They are just wautung tio be declared failed and returen to open colonialism. </div></div>


Wha gawn abad a maawning cyaan cum good a heeveling.


the world is in a global economic mess, I guess nobody ever envisioned this could happen...all mi can seh is, all who deh a farrin haff to be prepared to support those who need it at home, and truss seh di money whey yuh sen, dem wi buy food, an no bling bling...

[evanovitch]

Ministry of Labour promises more foreign jobs

Ministry of Labour promises more foreign jobs
Tuesday, 06 January 2009

Despite the effects of the worsening global economic crisis <span style="font-weight: bold">the Ministry of Labour is promising more jobs this year under the Jamaica/Canada Seasonal Agricultural Programme.</span>
Just under 200 Jamaicans left the island Monday to work in Ontario.

It was the first batch of workers to leave the island this year to work in hydroponics and green houses.

Last year more than 8,000 workers benefited from the programme.

The Labour Ministry anticipates that this year the number of workers will be higher.

Under the present agreement a diversified group of workers such as practical nurses and auto-mechanics will be employed.

<span style="font-weight: bold">The Seasonal Agricultural Programme has been operational in a number of provinces including Nova Scotia, Quebec, Alberta and Ontario.</span>