Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Grantley Stephenson (centre), general manager of Kingston Wharves, directs Minister of Labour and Social Security Derrick Kellier (left) on a tour of the facility last week. Michael Bernard (right), president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica, is part of the tour. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

A massive $3 billion up-grade of Kingston Wharves is expected to increase the demand for young experts once the project is completed in four years time.

But while the upgrade should create more jobs for tertiary graduates, the growth in technology will push some port workers out of their jobs as they are to be slowly replaced by machines.

Some 300 people are now employed at the facility. This represents a dwindling number of workers, moving down from about 5,000 in the 1960s. It is not clear how much of the workforce will be cut, but General Manager of Kingston Wharves, Grantley Stephenson, says the jobs for people in this category will be fewer once the project is complete.

"One of the things about the shipping industry is that as it becomes more and more mechanised and we use sophisticated equipment, we use less (contracted) people," says Stephens.

"What we get is substantially higher levels of efficiency and, so , what you now need is more highly- trained people," he adds. The company already employs a number of graduates of the University of Technology (UTech), he notes, and it has been seeing an increased demand for technical skills as the project grows.

"A year ago, we only had three people who could drive the cranes, this year we have 12. Most of these people are engineering graduates of UTech. So ... we have created opportunities. Hither to, those people wouldn't be looking to the wharf for a job," he says.

The company has also had to employ a number of engineers, all local graduates, to maintain the equipment. A batch of them recently went to Germany for training.

"So things have gone to another level. In the past, the wharf used a lot of big strong men to lift bags and all those things. The wharf isn't like that any more," he says.

While there will be an increased demand for tertiary-trained specialists once the expansion is done, Mr. Stephenson says the intake is not expected to be so great.

He says the focus of the expansion is not to create employment but to increase the efficiency of the facility and preserve its place in the market.

"It (employment) is not a lot and in terms of impact ... What you get is a world-class facility that can compete with any of the best in the world," he said.

Kingston Wharves was recently named the best multi-purpose port in the Caribbean and the proposed expansion should propel it even further.

Over $2 billion has already been spent on the project. Much of that money has been invested in new equipment for the wharf, but the money is also being used to expand all nine berths at the facility. Work is already being done on two berths to expand them to 1,220 feet. This will allow the wharf to accommodate larger vessels.