THE MINISTRY of Labour's granting of more than 3,900 work permits to foreigners over the last three years provides a useful point of departure, we suggest, for employers, trade unions and the Government itself to revisit current training policies targeting the Jamaican workforce.
Herbert Lewis, immediate past president of the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF), is right. The society must look more seriously at the available skills in the workforce and redouble efforts to offer training in areas where employment opportunities are opening up. We can hardly quarrel with foreign investors who seek to hire non-Jamaicans, if skills are in short supply here. We must look overseas for the expertise.
Arguments for restrictions on the granting of work permits are often made in sync with those for protecting industries in particular territories. But often the weaknesses in those arguments, some of which were reported in yesterday's Sunday Gleaner, are quite evident.
In the instant case, for example, the Ministry of Labour said the 35 per cent increase in the number of work permits granted over the past three years was not an indication of foreigners taking away Jamaican jobs. Rather, for the most part, they are being granted to foreigners with special investment interests locally and who will eventually provide more opportunities for the local workforce. As a country, we must embrace this.
We should not be unmindful either, that long before there was talk of globalisation and the free movement of Caribbean nationals among regional territories, Jamaicans and other nationalities have been criss-crossing the globe in search of better-paying jobs. Indeed, we often celebrate the successes of our compatriots who migrate and do well overseas, especially when they remit foreign exchange to boost our local coffers. In much the same way that we want our people to have easy access to employment opportunities elsewhere, we should expect others to want the same here. The way to counter any negative effects of an influx of foreigners is to offer comparable, well-trained workers who can contribute to the productivity of enterprises and the country.
Indications are that opportunities are opening up in the construction and bauxite sectors that will require a high calibre trained staff. Officials of HEART/NTA training agency say they are not only targeting the traditional pool of school-leavers for training, but also the 370,000 already in the workforce who need to have their skills upgraded. This is a step in the right direction. As new technology is developed and introduced to make for more efficient operations in the workplace, several employees will have need to be retrained to manage new equipment and to think differently.
An increase in the number of work permits should spur the society into examining areas of opportunities for training and development, rather than constituting a platform for whining.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
