#Jamaica, September 15, 2017 – Kingston – Some 2,000 persons have been successfully placed in employment through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s Labour Market Information System (LMIS) since 2013, when the website was enhanced and redeployed.   Additionally, more than 3,700 vacancies were identified and 6,000 individuals referred for employment.

Through the LMIS, employers can post job openings and search for matching candidates, while jobseekers can post résumés and apply for jobs online.   The LMIS also provides a comprehensive database with indicators on the economy, the population of the labour force, employment levels, educational levels of persons in the labour force, education and training, and the emergence and contraction of industries and sectors within the economy.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Shahine Robinson, said the Ministry’s Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE) Department has, over the years, formalised a series of partnerships which have resulted in not only improved awareness, but also increased access to the system for both employers and jobseekers.

These include collaboration with the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, a business organisation consisting of 29 employers; and the Jamaica Library Service (JLS), which operates 119 branch libraries and 106 other supporting units across 13 parishes, all providing access to the LMIS portal.

“The project supported the development and implementation of various labour market studies designed to improve the functioning of the labour market.   Consequently, in a fulsome way, it is providing employers, educators, students and parents, and all other labour market actors with the relevant information for making important decisions in respect of critical hiring, employment, career and educational programme decisions, in addition to addressing the mismatch between skills and jobs,” she said.

Mrs. Robinson was addressing a ceremony hosted for Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Executive Vice-President, Julie Katzman, who visited the Ministry on September 6.

The Minister, who accompanied Ms. Katzman on a tour of the ELE satellite location at 1F North Street in Kingston, used the occasion to highlight the unit’s daily operations as well as the LMIS’ research component.

The labour market study has enabled the identification of key skills gaps in areas such as science and technology, mathematics, engineering and other related disciplines, Mrs. Robinson said.

“This along with the efforts of the Labour Market Reform Commission will result in a labour market which will present the potential of fostering productivity, generating higher real incomes, encouraging competiveness – in both the local and global marketplace, and providing an effective social safety net,” she added.

Since 2013, the IDB has provided financial and technical assistance in support of the objectives of improving human capital and labour market outcomes in Jamaica, by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public employment services.

JIS