Lower bar to employment
IN JAMAICA, we have placed academic achievement as the pinnacle of success at the expense of experiential learning, in effect dooming a significant portion of our population to poverty and social stagnation.
When we talk about the productivity of the Jamaican worker, there is always a comparison between local workers versus when they migrate and work in the developed world. The common narrative is that Jamaican workers work harder because the jobs are better, and they pay more than jobs of the same nature here.
But I would submit that there are even more impactful differences between the labour markets of the global north and Jamaica. One of the most fundamental is the dependence on paper qualifications by employers in the labour market.
In the United States, for instance, according to data from the Department of Labour two years ago, 28 per cent of entry-level jobs did not require formal education credentials and 36 per cent required a highschool diploma or equivalent. In these economies, unemployment levels are low, at 3.9 per cent.
In Jamaica, however, employers who require lowskilled labour seem to have remained wedded to the attainment of Caribbean Examinations Council’s grades as a prerequisite for someone stepping into an interview room. This practice has had major effects.
DECADES OF FAILURE
It bars thousands in the labour force whose futures were blighted by decades of failure of the education system and are now in their midlives and unable to access employment opportunities.
Some would argue that they should try to sit these exams, but it costs much to got to classes, pay exam fees and sustain yourself while struggling to find a decent job. It’s a virtual catch-22!
Education Minister Ruel Reid suggested, in August, that a national school-leaving certificate would be implemented as the minimum requirement for entrylevel jobs. While this solves some problems, it doesn’t solve most of the current ones faced by those who fall in the 9.60 per cent unemployment rate.
Employers in food service, delivery, housekeeping, among industries, should focus more on experiential learning and apprenticeship rather than CXC grades. This is something that can be done without waiting on a new standard to be implemented.
It’s important that we are fair to our people and give them a chance to better themselves. In fact, we have seen where this happens at the highest levels, with ministers given portfolios with no previous experience, or an executive at Petrojam given a portfolio that requires a master’s degree, but given a chance without a first degree in the bag.
It is time the private sector reassesses how it recruits labour and invests in human capital. Otherwise, we will continue to have a chronic level of unemployment and low economic growth.