JCC: Jobs available but workers not up to scratch

McPherse Thompson, Assistant Business Editor

The President of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Francis Kennedy, is maintaining that there are jobs in the market but workers are not qualified to fill the vacancies.

Kennedy says feedback from members of the business organisation indicate many jobs are available.

But he says many applicants do not possess the requisite skills needed to fill the vacancies and this makes employers reluctant to hire them.

The JCC president says business owners are concerned that they would have to provide training, at their expense, for at least a few years if they provide employment under those circumstances.

Kennedy was responding to data in the latest business and consumer indices.

READ: Confidence rebounds despite scarce jobs

The report, undertaken by the research and advisory arm of the JCC and developed in collaboration with the Survey Research Centre at the University of Michigan, United States, was released yesterday.

It highlighted that nine-in-10 Jamaicans reported that jobs were scarce and hard to get.

When asked about job prospects for the year ahead, 26 percent expected gains.

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