January 26, 2024
The CEO of a regional recruitment firm is backing up comments recently made by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Skills and Digital Transformation Senator the Honourable Dr. Dana Morris Dixon, with respect to the need for Jamaica’s workforce to upskill if it is to be adequately prepared to qualify for the jobs of tomorrow.
“Minister Dixon is completely on the mark with this,” said Joseph Boll, Caribbean Employment Services Inc. CEO. “Automation, AI and technology are expected to create more jobs than they will eradicate, and only highly-skilled individuals can expect to be able to evolve along with that. While her comments may have been more directed at the young Jamaicans in attendance, they can be considered a clarion call for the Jamaican workforce at large. It is wise to start upskilling and preparing yourself now to be qualified for the jobs of tomorrow — and that ‘tomorrow’ may come sooner than you think.”
Boll’s firm, Caribbean Employment Services Inc., is headquartered in Barbados but operates throughout the Caribbean and abroad, seeking to exclusively connect Caribbean jobseekers with prime employment opportunities both regionally and in countries including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
“We have naturally been paying close attention to these developments, and the ‘Robot Revolution,’ as the WEF (World Economic Forum) calls it, is already happening,” Boll noted. “More jobs are using advanced technology and expecting the people they hire to be skilled enough to keep up, and to keep adapting quickly. Just look at how companies are already expecting workers to know how to use AI technologies, and some are even hiring specialists just with those skillsets.”
As Minister Dixon pointed out, the WEF has predicted that technology and automation could wipe out 85 million jobs around the world by next year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects that 60 percent of jobs will be impacted by AI in the near to long term.
“For working people of all ages, there is no time to lose,” the CEO urged. “Make use of resources to start making sure you have the necessary skills to be employed in a technologically-advanced labour market. Use skills training courses like HEART/NSTA or other programmes. Look at job boards like ours at Caribbean Employment to see what kind of requirements these technology jobs are looking for and ensure that you have those skillsets; they are quickly becoming the norm and your way to keep a stable, well-paying job in the future.”