The Manpower Group of Companies, headquartered in Kingston, opened its third office in Mandeville yesterday.

The office, located at 33 Ward Avenue, was officially opened by United States Ambassador Pamela E. Bridgewater at a function that was also attended by notable national and local officials.

According to Manpower Chairman and CEO Audrey Hinchcliffe, "the new office will cover mid-island and the south coast" and joins the Montego Bay office, which serves the north coast, as the second out-of-Kingston location for the group.

She said the Manpower team will "bring to the Manchester, Clarendon and St Elizabeth communities our 23 years of experience as suppliers of superior cleaning and sanitation, grounds, landscape and pest-control services; as well as our expertise in training, job placement, and the development of a quality workforce in technical and vocational skills."

Hinchcliffe said that, despite the global recession and the struggling national economy, "we are in this business for the long haul. We aim to build a strong organisation with national, regional and international reach." She added, "We are not sitting back and blaming the economy nor being intimidated by the competition. These are challenging times, but at Manpower we believe that this is still a great place for opportunities. We are determined to add value to the service offered to our clients and win the economic battle."

The event also saw the launch of Red Stripe's Diageo Learning for Life Project in mid-island, in collaboration with the Institute for Workforce Education & Development (IWED), a member of the Manpower Group, to train more than 100 young people for the job market.

The new office which is managed by Colin Wilson will focus initially on the organisation's flagship services to offices, hotels, households, restaurants and other commercial enterprises. These include: janitorial, building maintenance, pest control, which covers fogging, misting, termite control, and integrated pest management which also includes building and plant protection; as well as landscape design and maintenance.

Clients may also access Manpower Maintenance & Services (MMS) PowerMaid Service, which provides an experienced and capable team to handle the cleaning and sanitation needs of prestige homes. These workers hold security clearance and food-handlers permits and execute their tasks with state-of- the-art and environmentally friendly products and equipment.

The Manpower Group which comprises MMS; its training arm IWED, an accredited training organisation (ATO); the MMS Placement Agency, licensed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, as well as space rental for training and meetings; operates islandwide and employs more than 1,200 persons in varying categories.