KINGSTON, Jamaica – A cadre of Jamaica’s top corporate leaders along with members of the diplomatic and consular corps recently sat together on Friday, October 26 over a traditional Jamaican breakfast with the Hon. Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica and hosts, National Commercial Bank (NCB) Chairman Michael Lee-Chin, Patrick Hylton, NCB’s Group Managing Director and Marjorie Seeberan, NCB’s General Manager of Corporate Banking.
The august gathering was convened to explore and build a consensus around the way forward in overhauling the nation’s labour force. The breakfast, a part of the NCB Corporate Banking Division’s ‘Round Table Breakfast’ series, was held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel.
The series targets a cross section of business leaders and is geared at exploring avenues to promote awareness, promulgate the exchange of ideas and inform private sector decisions based on the current local and global factors that impact economic trends and development in Jamaica.
In his presentation, the Prime Minister addressed ‘The Vision for Transforming Jamaica’s Labour Pool into a High Quality 21st Century Workforce’. “The best way to alleviate poverty is to create jobs. We have to create an environment that is not only business friendly but business hungry,” outlined the Hon. Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Emphasizing that transformation requires trust and confidence Mr. Lee-Chin posed this question, “all of us have to ask ourselves this question…what is my contribution at this point in time to confidence building in Jamaica?”
“Through this breakfast forum, NCB aims to contribute to the national dialogue on the quality of Jamaica’s labour pool and the transformation necessary to drive economic development,” underscored Mr. Lee-Chin.
President of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ), Christopher Zacca succinctly captured the private sector perspective under the main theme of the event, ‘Corporate Jamaica: Leading the charge for the Development of Human Capital for the 21st Century Workforce’.
Championing the expansion of vocational training, Mr. Zacca endorsed the Prime Minister’s call for the private sector to get more involved with apprenticeship initiatives.
“There is no question though that in order for us to successfully compete in the global market, we must move quickly to address the inadequacies in our education and training systems by learning from the considerable successes that have been achieved by developed economies throughout the world,” Mr. Zacca noted.
He reiterated that, “we must align our education and training systems with our economic development strategies and the actual physical on the ground needs of the business community, to ensure that we produce the right quantities at the right times, of 21st century citizen workers capable of seizing the economic opportunities which the global environment is presenting.”
In summarizing the morning’s discussion Patrick Hylton recalled that, “a big part of NCB’s transformation has been a focus on its people, on their capacity and on their development.” He further stressed that it was critical as a nation to not just outline the framework and consensus for the way forward but to also execute these initiatives.
“Each of us, whether as individuals or as corporate leaders, have the opportunity to begin the transformation of Jamaica…we can start now, we can start today,” he implored. Mr. Hylton thanked the guests for committing the time to participate in the national dialogue and he lauded their passion for the cause. As a unique ‘thank you’ token, NCB made a donation to the Mustard Seed Communities on behalf of each guest who received a thank you card noting the donation in lieu of a gift.
At the previously held events the ‘Proceeds of Crime Act’ was examined by Solicitor General, B. St. Michael Hylton and the Hon. Noel Hylton, O.J., President and C.E.O. of the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) addressed the topic, ‘How is Jamaica positioned to leverage its port expansion as a key driver of economic development over the next decade? How will the Panama Canal’s expansion influence our plans?’
