UPDATE: Gov't gives JCC boss database of certified job-seekers

Charlene Stuart, Senior Staff Reporter

A day after Francis Kennedy, the president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce said many local jobs were available but the potential employees were not qualified, the Labour Ministry has sought to provide him with a database of certified job-seekers.

And Kennedy says the chamber is hoping to get some of Jamaica’s unemployed to work by the first quarter of next year.

READ: JCC says jobs available but workers not up to scratch

He says the chamber is hoping to use the database to bridge the unemployment gap.

But Kennedy says this cannot happen before next year because employers do not often hire at this time of the year and people are also generally reluctant to switch jobs during this period.

Kennedy could not immediately provide specifics about the types of jobs that are available, but says that information will become available after the chamber completes a survey.

The latest business and consumer indices indicated that nine-in-10 Jamaicans reported that jobs were scarce and hard to get.

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