Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter

Hundreds of prospective HEART Trust/NTA trainees yesterday flocked the Ministry of Labour's overseas employment office on East Street in Kingston in the hope of being among the 150 to be selected to work in British Columbia in Canada, in the construction industry.

The applicants are being recruited under a new initiative being spearheaded by the ministry in collaboration with the Okanagan College and the Central Okanagan Regional District Economic Development Commission in Canada.

Good partnership

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Alwin McIntosh, told The Gleaner yesterday that five employers were in the island conducting interviews yesterday and today to select the best applicants for the jobs available.

"This seems to be a potentially good partnership because we are starting out with 150 workers, but these are low-skilled persons in carpentry and masonry," he explained. "By the end of the year, we expect the figure to move up to 500."

Mr. McIntosh explained that this new initiative would be integrated in the Ministry's Overseas Employment Programme. He said the group of Canadians had visited the island in April and held discussions with Labour Minister Derrick Kellier about the recruitment.

"The minister will be visiting British Columbia shortly to explore possibilities for greater opportunities for the Jamaican workers," he added.

One of the employers, Terry Brown of Greyback Construction Ltd., told The Gleaner that there is currently a shortage of skilled labourers in Canada.

"For all those Canadians who would like to retire in the next decade, we don't have enough skilled workers to fill the gap that we are going to create, so we are looking abroad globally for workers to support our construction industry."

He said his company was looking to recruit 40 skilled workers in masonry, finished carpentry, among other areas. So far, he said, he was pleased with the applicants interviewed.

Sign MoU

Meanwhile, Dawn Whyte who was successful in her application yesterday, told The Gleaner that she was "overwhelmed".

The former accountant said she was interested in the construction industry and was urged by a friend to apply to the Portmore HEART Academy to learn the trade.

Meanwhile, the International Education Okanagan College will be signing several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the HEART Trust/NTA and several community colleges to provide training in Jamaica and Canada to equip students with the knowledge, which they will need in Canada.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com