Leading occupations in the Jamaican labour market
Published: Wednesday | February 11, 2009
Teaching remains a viable career option in Jamaica. - Contributed
While some sectors might be busy shedding workers to cut costs, other local entities are in need of employees who will help their businesses to realise set goals of productivity, efficiency and growth.
The Ministry of Labour's last labour market survey reveals that openings listed for teachers, directors and sales representatives as the most frequently advertised vacancies during the period 1 May 1, 2002 to September 30, 2008.
The hottest jobs were mainly observed in the service sector, popular areas being education, sales, administration and hospitality.
Most frequently advertised
The positions most frequently advertised were for teachers (8,051), managers (7,628), sales representatives (5,580), and household workers (4,185). Teachers were required to have a bachelor's degree as well as a diploma from a teacher training college.
According to the survey, the qualifications for managers were more varied and included degrees in finance, business, management studies, accounts and human resource management, as well as engineering and marketing. Some sales-representative positions required a minimum of three to five CXC subjects, while others required a minimum of a diploma in sales or marketing. Household workers needed the least training as they were required to be literate.
For other occupations such as lecturers, the total number of vacancies over the period stood at 2,069. Most of the advertisements sought persons who had completed postgraduate certification such as master's degree, doctorate, or a postgraduate diploma. In some cases they were also required to have a diploma from a teacher training college. The receptionist positions required persons with a minimum of four CXC subjects, while vacancies for directors expected candidates to be equipped with a master's degree, especially Master of Business Administration.
According to the survey, examination of the data by major occupational group showed that most of the advertisements from May 1, 2002 to September 30, 2008 were for persons who fall in the 'professionals, senior officials and technicians' category.
Other categories
The occupations in this category which were most requested were teacher, lecturer, accountant, engineer, marketing/sales/brand manager and principal. Next was 'service workers, shop and market sales workers', which included top occupations such as sales representative, bartender and cook/chef.
The clerical group was the third-highest category. The most requested occupations from this group were receptionist, customer or client services representative, cashier and typist/secretary. The elementary occupation group was the fourth-highest and the job featuring prominently in this group was domestic helper.
- Information source: Ministry of Labour, Labour 2008 Market Survey - based on analysis of career advertisements in local newspapers.
Career trends
Top jobs by occupational group
Occupational Group/Count
Professionals, senior officials & technicians
| 40,345 | |
| Teacher | 8,051 |
| Lecturer | 2,069 |
| Accountant/accounting officer | 1,772 |
| Engineer | 1,027 |
| Marketing/sales/brand manager | 984 |
| principal | 949 |
Clerks | 12,144 |
Receptionist/customer/client service representative | 2,683 |
| Cashier | 1,803 |
| Typist/secretary | 1,271 |
Service, (shop and markets sales) workers | 18,083 |
| Sales representative/personnel | 5,580 |
| Bartender/barmaid | 2,139 |
| Cook/chef | 1,816 |
Craft and related trade workers | 3,368 |
| Technician | 1,019 |
| Mechanic | 627 |
| Tailor/dressmaker | 436 |
Plant and machine operators & assemblers | 3,902 |
| Driver/dispatcher/delivery rider | 3,003 |
| Machine/drill operator | 252 |
Elementary Occupations | 9,732 |
| Domestic helper | 4,185 |
| Janitor/handyman | 1,589 |
| Casual worker | 1,448 |
Less demanded but popular occupations: 1. Chambermaid/housemother 2. Medical officer/doctor 3. Financial controller 4. Bailiff 5. Librarian/cataloguer Source: Ministry of Labour survey - May 1, 2002 to September 30, 2008
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