COKE LLOYD
OVER 430 MILLION new jobs will be needed in the next fifteen years, especially in the developing world to stem the rate of global unemployment says a report coming out of the 95th Labour Conference of the International Labour Organisation, (ILO) held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Executive director of the Jamaica Employers' Federation, Jacqueline Coke Lloyd says there are a number of factors that may be contributing to Jamaica's inability to place some of that 430 million in employment. She was speaking at the University of Technology Employment Fair earlier this year.
"There has been a decided shift in the type of economic activities driving the economy," she said. "Whereas sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture used to be among the major employers, the general services sector now accounts for over 60 per cent of employment."
The result is that the types of jobs that used to be available are now changing. The government sector used to employ close to half of the labour force, but they now account for only approximately 12 per cent. The major significance of this information is that the government sector is no longer absorbing the tertiary level graduates who are unable to find employment in the private sector.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT
And while self-employment used to be an alternative for only a few, it now accounts for just over 34 per cent of the employed labour force. This indicates that more and more unemployed individuals are now creating their own employment.
The number of highly trained or highly educated individuals entering the labour force has increased significantly and is still increasing due to the number of educational institutions now offering degree level programmes and the increased capacity of tertiary institutions, she said. This has driven down wages for certain jobs and raised the requirements for successful entry into other jobs that would not normally be filled by university graduates. It has also increased the competition for jobs requiring tertiary level graduates.
Mrs. Coke Lloyd suggested that graduates, institutions and students should make themselves aware of what the job market looks like before embarking on training. This would ensure that their preparations are in line with existing or future demand for workers.
Those individuals who have already been trained, should be prepared to remake themselves if they are unable to find employment. Résumés should be reshaped to highlight those qualities that are most in line with the requirements for the jobs being sought. Job seekers should also enhance their training and education where possible to ensure that they have the skills for the jobs available. This might be done by attending seminars and downloading information from the Internet and elsewhere.
LACK OF JOB EXPERIENCE
The JEF executive director noted that entry into the labour market is often impeded by a lack of job experience. Where it becomes evident that this is a problem, job seekers should consider as far as possible, offering free service for a time to build their résumés. Ideally, this should be done as internships before completion of schooling, but if schooling has already been completed and some form of parental or other support may be found for at least six months, new job seekers could consider offering themselves for short term internships. This would allow them to build the experience required to gain access to the job of choice.
Job seekers should also try to create businesses of their own, she said. Several young people have successfully done this.
