Caribbean News
JAMAICA: Tourism Industry Encouraged to Participate in Workers’ Pension Scheme
Montego Bay, October 21, 2019 – Jamaica – Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, is encouraging employers in the hospitality industry to participate in the proposed workers’ pension scheme, which is slated to come into effect next year.
“Cooperate with us, and work with the workers. We are incentivizing employers to ensure that they contribute their three percent now, and later on, five percent,” Mr. Bartlett said, while reiterating that the scheme will cover all workers, aged 18-59, upon retiring.
He was speaking at the third graduation ceremony for Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI) trainees, which was held recently at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.
The tourism workers’ pension scheme, which is the first of its kind, is a contributory arrangement that will embrace some 350,000 full-time, part-time, self-employed and contract workers across the sector. They include red cap porters, front desk managers, craft traders, and housekeepers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bartlett hailed tourism workers as “the real heroes of the sector”, noting that “without our dedicated workers, the sector would not enjoy [the] unprecedented growth and success [now being experienced]”. Against this background, he said building the workers’ capacity will further benefit the industry, and bolster their marketability.
“Your improved skill sets will assist our destination to meet the growing demands of the industry, including better service and innovation. So you see, the quality of our tourism product and the development of our tourism workers are inseparably linked,” the Minister pointed out.
Additionally, Mr. Bartlett said with training and certification, “you are able to demand more in terms of earnings and will be able to work anywhere in the world”.
For her part, Permanent Secretary in the Tourism Ministry, Jennifer Griffith, told graduates that the JCTI’s training programme reflects the Government’s “commitment to building out the capacity of the sector’s work force”. She commended them for completing of their training, adding that they represent the next cadre of workers who, through innovation and creativity, will propel the sector to another level.
Mrs. Griffith reminded them, however, that “it is now that the real work begins… as you push yourselves with your newly acquired skillset to go beyond what is normal and usual, to meet the increasing demands of a very dynamic tourism sector”.
The Permanent Secretary also thanked stakeholders supporting the training programme’s delivery and encouraged them to continue working with the Ministry to further develop the sector.
Some 649 tourism workers participated in the latest round of training, of which 350 were present at the graduation to receive certificates. The participants are now certified by the American Hotel and Lodging Institute and the American Culinary Foundation in various industry-related skills.
The JCTI was created to increase access to certification for tertiary-level graduates as well as workers in the hospitality industry, thereby boosting Jamaica’s tourism product.
Contact: Serena Grant
Release: JIS
Photo Caption: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, addressing the recent graduation ceremony for Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation (JCTI) trainees, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.
Photo Contributed
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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