Businesses Urged to Provide Training and Certification for Staff

Business operators are being encouraged to provide access to training and certification programmes for their employees.

Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, in making the call, said that investment in human capital will create a more skilled, adaptable and resilient workforce that can respond to global challenges and opportunities.

He was addressing the graduation ceremony for Desnoes and Geddes (D&G) Foundation’s Forklift Operator Training and Certification programme held on September 21 at Red Stripe’s Spanish Town Road Plant in Kingston.

Twenty participants completed the inaugural programme, which is aimed at boosting the employability of marginalised youth.

Minister Hill emphasised the Government’s support of such initiatives that facilitate practical skills training.

“This tremendous initiative providing training opportunities for young people who otherwise would not have access, demonstrates the Foundation’s commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of Jamaican people while simultaneously enriching communities,” he said.

“This fits neatly into the larger socio-economic picture of the Government, recently achieving the lowest unemployment in our history (4.5 per cent). We have to make sure that those (300,000 to 400,000) outside our workforce get into the workforce,” he added.

Noting that, this year, the Government will spend $150 billion on educating young people, he emphasised that local companies have an important role to play in upskilling the labour force.

“I want to congratulate Red Stripe for what they are doing and ask other Jamaican companies to step up to the plate,” the Minister said.

Director of the D&G Foundation, Dianne Ashton Smith, said the initiative aims to address the shortage of fork lift drivers in the manufacturing sector as well as provide valuable skills training for unattached youth.

“This is something that is a very key component of our supply chain and … creates sustainable socio- economic activities for at-risk young people,” she said.

The forklift training programme was executed in partnership with DECS Management and Logistics Services Limited and Project Star (Social Transformation and Renewal).

Under the programme, participants received free training, a stipend, meals, and assistance to open bank accounts, and other assistance to become fully integrated into the formal society.

The graduates will benefit from internships with several participating companies.

Source: JIS