Jamaica/Canada employment programme pumps J$1.7 b in economy -- Kellier

Tuesday, January 06, 2015 | 7:59 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica  – Remittance inflows from the Jamaica-Canada Employment Programme contributed Cdn$15.5 million (approximately $1.7 billion) to the Jamaican economy during 2014.

Minister of Agriculture, Labour and Social Security, Derrick Kellier, who made the disclosure, noted that the programme, a vital source of foreign exchange remittances, “continues to be a beacon of hope and opportunity for thousands of Jamaicans.”

Kellier was speaking at a send-off ceremony for the first batch of farm workers for 2015, under the Ministry’s Overseas Employment Programme, held at the Overseas Employment Services Centre in Kingston, today (January 6).

Hefurther noted that during 2014, approximately 7,952 Jamaicans benefitted from employment opportunities in Canada.

“The farm work component accounted for 90 per cent (7,156) of this number, while the others travelled under the low skill and skilled worker programmes,” he said.

A total of 340 workers, selected under the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme departed the island today to take up employment opportunities on various farms in Ontario, Canada.

This batch of all males, most of whom will do eight-month stints, will be employed in greenhouse crop production, food processing, tobacco plants as well as nurseries which are involved in the cultivation of various vegetables. They will also be engaged in packaging tobacco and fruits for shipment.

The Minister noted that 20 per cent of the workers are new employees, while the remainder are ‘returnees’ or requested workers, noting that “this is a testament to the hard and dedicated work provided by Jamaican workers abroad.”

The Minister reminded the workers that the Overseas Employment Family Services Unit will continue to focus on the welfare of their families through a range of social interventions, including household visits, referrals for assistance, care for the sick and injured, care of children and self-empowerment programmes.

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Jamaica/Canada employment programme pumps J$1.7 b in economy -- Kellier

All talk, no action - Blindness prevents master"s degree holder Wilbert Harvey from gaining employment

Contributed

Wilbert Harvey was born blind.

Social worker Wilbert Harvey may have been born blind, but he has a clear vision of a future of equal rights for persons with special needs in Jamaica.

With both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work, he is qualified to take on corporate Jamaica. However, according to the 30-year-old, his biggest difficulty has not been living with his disability, but the inability of others to offer equal opportunities.

Since his graduation from the master’s programme at the University of the West Indies, Harvey has not been able to obtain a full-time job.

Gap between the rhetoric and action

He said: “One of the biggest challenges has been the barriers created by society in terms of discrimination, based on ignorance. My story is not an individualistic one either. Various stakeholders, the Government and business entities, in keeping with the global inclusive approach, say they are on board with special needs – that they welcome people like me – but there is a significant gap between the rhetoric and action.”

Harvey said persons with special needs are increasingly ensuring that they are qualified to compete in the corporate world and yet their skills are being underutilised. “I know of one colleague who has been job hunting for more than 20 years and has resorted to other studies as a means of keeping occupied,” he said. “We all have obligations in this society and I just want to highlight this situation and to make an appeal for people like myself not to be boxed into a corner.”

Harvey is considering participating in the upcoming Digicel Foundation 5K Run/Walk which is geared at generating contributions for various special-needs institutions across the island. Taking place on October 11, the 5K Run/Walk is one of the many platforms that Digicel Foundation has utilised to assist those with special needs. Persons interested in participating may register at www.runningeventsja.com.

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All talk, no action - Blindness prevents master"s degree holder Wilbert Harvey from gaining employment

Thousands for NYS summer employment programme

Four thousand 500 youngsters will be placed in jobs under a J$90 million summer Employment Programme being led by the National Youth Service (NYS).

Starting on Monday, they will be assigned to public and private sector entities for six weeks.

Deputy Director of  Community Service at the NYS, Nickeisha Lindsay, says the participants were selected from high schools and tertiary institutions across the island.

They were required to have at least three CSEC passes.

Physically challenged persons were included.

Lindsay explained that the programme is not geared towards securing permanent employment for the participants, but to provide work experience.

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Thousands for NYS summer employment programme

Kellier pins hope on overseas employment programme

THE country’s struggle with unemployment could, in another decade, be a thing of the past as the Ministry of Labour and Social Security steps up efforts to satisfy the global labour demand with qualified Jamaicans.

Labour and Social Security Minister Derrick Kellier yesterday made the pronouncement while responding to questions from the Jamaica Observer during a courtesy call by Caribbean Airlines Ltd at his downtown Kingston offices, where a partnership between the airline and the country’s overseas employment programme was highlighted.“That is my hope,” Kellier said when asked if unemployment — based on the work programme — would no longer be an issue in another 10 years.“That is really my hope and that is why the ministry is working so hard to get the labour market information so that we can prepare ourselves along with the people in the HEART Trust, in the Ministry of Education and other training agencies to prepare our people to [fill] jobs in the global marketplace. So whether it is in India, Pakistan, down in the [United Arab] Emirates… we can find people to send there.”The minister said that in Canada alone there are some 300,000 jobs to be filled in areas, ranging from fast-food restaurant workers to tax auditors, accountants and engineers.Between Canada and the United States, an average of 14,000 Jamaicans are hired on the Government’s farm work programme alone, which is 60 years running.Should Kellier’s dream become a reality, Jamaica could see a significant jump in remittances, which has for a long time been one of Jamaica’s main foreign exchange earners but which took a hit with the global economic meltdown a few years ago.Kellier told journalists at yesterday’s event that the “Government and the country” have benefited to the tune of billions of dollars from the overseas employment programme.The number of Jamaicans who are unemployed stands at roughly 200,000, which is about 14 per cent of the labour force. The average figure over the years has been 13.80 per cent, save for an all-time low of 9.80 per cent in 2007, according to figures on the website of the Planning Institute of Jamaica. The unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.Yesterday, Kellier said that his ministry is working to grow the overseas employment programme, saying that this year there is an expected 10 to 15 per cent increase in the number of Jamaicans who will gain employment in Canada.He said work has been done to broaden the scope of employment for Jamaicans in various sectors there, including heavy-duty trucking, heavy-duty mechanics and welders.“There are a lot of unemployed persons out there looking an opportunity and we are trying our best at the local level to get them involved,” Kellier said.He said the Government will, in the future, be seeking employment for Jamaicans in the Middle East, where there is also a growing demand for workers with certain skills set.Minister of Labour and Social Security Derrick Kellier (centre) greets veteran farm worker Vincent Taylor at the ministry’s downtown Kingston offices. Sharing in the occasion is Caribbean Airlines Ltd’s general manager Clive Forbes.Jamaicans selected for the overseas employment programme pay attention during a meeting at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security offices in downtown Kingston, yesterday.

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Kellier pins hope on overseas employment programme

US employment up by 162,000 in July

2 August 2013 Last updated at 12:48 ET US firms are hiring – but at a fairly moderate pace The US economy added 162,000 new jobs in July, according to the US Labor Department.

The figure – which measures the number of jobs outside the US farming sector – was below economists’ expectations of more than 180,000 and the government also cut its previous estimates for hiring in May and June.

Nonetheless, the new jobs helped the unemployment rate to fall to 7.4%.

That was down from 7.6% and is the lowest jobless rate in four years.

The news adds to the picture of a slowly growing US economy and may make its central bank more likely to end its monetary stimulus programme.

The Federal Reserve is currently buying $85bn a month in bonds which helps to keep borrowing costs low.

However, there is much speculation as to when the Fed will start to rein in this stimulus programme.

Its chairman, Ben Bernanke, has said that it might start cutting down the rate of bond buying by the end of the year and stop altogether by the middle of 2014, depending on the strength of the economy.

Continue reading the main story Samira Hussain BBC business reporter, New York

At first glance, a 7.4 %unemployment rate seems like something to cheer about. That’s a point two percent decline from the month before and a far cry from the double digits we saw at the height of the US financial crisis. But a closer look at the labour participation rate tells a different story. The current percentage of working age adults in the United States in the labour force sits at 63.4%. That calls the actual strength of the US economic recovery into question. While the number of people who have a job went up, there are still a number of people who have dropped out of the labour force completely. Couple that with the weak GDP growth and slowing in hiring shows this economy isn’t picking up as robustly as some would hope.

Earlier this week, figures showed that the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised pace of 1.7% in the second quarter of the year.

That was up from the growth rate for the first three months of 2013, which was revised lower to 1.1% from 1.8%.

‘Grinding along’

Gordon Charlop, of Rosenblatt Securities said the figures were moderately encouraging: “The idea that the unemployment dropped at all, went below 7.6%, is showing that the trend is going the right way.

“We’re sort of grinding along here. We’re not surging. I don’t think there’s anything here that will cause the Fed to do anything significant.”

Revisions to previous months’ data saw May’s jobs increase downgraded to 176,000, below the 195,000 previously estimated, while June’s increase was lowered to 188,000, from the 195,000 originally reported.

Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics, said despite that, the employment picture was much brighter than last year: “While July itself was a bit disappointing, the Fed will be looking at the cumulative improvement.

“On that score, the unemployment rate has fallen from 8.1% last August, to 7.4% this July, which is a significant improvement.”

Other figures released on Friday confirmed the picture of moderate economic growth.

US consumer spending and inflation both rose in June, with the US Commerce Department saying spending was 0.5% higher and annual inflation running at 1.3% – although that is still well below the US target of 2%.

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US employment up by 162,000 in July