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IT Career Expo 2001
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The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Technology and JAMPRO, in association with HEART (Human Employment and Resource Training) hosted an IT Career Expo on Saturday, February 17, 2001, at the Jamaica Conference Centre.
This was a one-day event which took on the format of a job fair, where facilities were put in place to facilitate the matching of employers with prospective employees. The main aim was to expose suitably qualified Jamaicans to the opportunities which exist for employment in the information technology sector.
The Expo was attended by hundreds of young Jamaicans, mainly job hunters, turned up at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston with hopes of being given one of the 40,000 jobs proposed by the Government in the Information Technology (IT) sector over the next three years. They converged on all corners of the
centre, filling out application forms which were handed out just before the start of the IT Career Expo.
The Expo, officially opened by Minister of Industry, Commerce and Technology, Honourable Phillip Paulwell, featured a display of cutting edge technology mounted by firms which have recently entered the sector. The day's offering also included a number of seminars on self-presentation, preparing for working in the world of information technology and the range of career options available in the field. A special feature of significant interest was the computer-generated self-assessment so which enabled participants to identify their personality profiles and determine how his/her profile matches with career options.
Minister Paulwell, while admitting that the jobless rate among young Jamaicans is "unacceptably high," said the IT sector would offer opportunities for them. "We know our people are highly trainable and will easily learn the skill to excel in the IT sector," he said. "We have made the entry level in the sector very basic because we do not want to leave out those persons who at this point have not had the multiple subjects in
CXC."
Among the targets for the expo were job seekers at entry level, with a minimum qualification of two Caribbean Examination Council
(CXC) subjects or National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training
(NCTVET) certification, up to managerial level.
The Minister said that the Government intends to make available to the IT sector, 1.6 million square feet of factory space over the next three years. JAMPRO is expected to provide about 8,900 jobs in the IT sector alone.
The information technology sector in Jamaica has been earmarked as the one with the greatest potential for impact on the economy. Overall, the domestic workforce in the IT sector is currently estimated at 5,000 persons.
There are approximately 100 companies and affiliated institutions within the sector. These include software distributors and dealers; Internet service providers; companies offering computer training; and export service providers of data processing and conversion,
teleservices, geographic informatics services and software services.
At the global level, information technology is one of the fastest growing markets. With an annual average growth rate, the market is estimated at US$1 trillion. With the emergence of the Internet and its increased usage, especially for e-commerce, it is expected that business-to-business commerce will grow exponentially.
A follow-up IT Career Expo is being planned for western Jamaica.
For further information on the IT Career Expo, you can contact this Ministry at
admin@mct.gov.jm or JAMPRO at jampro@investjamaica.com
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