KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Employers and workers are being encouraged to make use of the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL) workplace intervention programme.

Special Projects Manager, Workplace and Communities, JFLL, Janet Allen, told JIS News that the call comes as a result of statistics from the Jamaica Vision 2030 Training Sector Plan which indicates that 70 per cent of the Jamaican workforce is uncertified.

“A large portion of that percentage is due to the fact that those individuals, though they may have the skill and have earned it in terms of the ambidexterity that it requires… [are] not certified and a large part of that reason is because they cannot read and write,” she said.

Allen added that because these workers are uncertified, they are unable to make use of job opportunities that would enhance or improve their lives.

The Special Projects Manager said that the JFLL has taken note of this and in its response to meet the needs of the society has crafted a special high-school diploma programme for workers.

The programme has three levels. The basic level covers grade one to six; the intermediate level from seven to nine; and the proficiency level covers grade 10 to 11.

“We want to hold the hand of our employers to give their employees that cutting edge and to place their organisations in a position where they have the competitive advantage over their competitors. If you have a workforce that is academically advanced, then that will impact on the production,” Allen noted.