DR Lawrence K Jones, Professor Emeritus for the College of Education at North Carolina State University, is expected to arrive in the island on Monday, June 2 for the staging of Choices Expo.

Designed to give Jamaicans an understanding of the job market and the types of skills and qualifications required for various jobs, the expo is targeted at students, graduates of high schools and tertiary institutions, parents and persons wishing to upgrade their skills base.

This year’s expo will place particular emphasis on information technology, tourism, health sector and agriculture and will give young entrepreneurs the opportunity to share their success stories.

The “GET READY FOR WORK CAREER AND EDUCATION EXPO”, is slated for the Hilton Kingston on Wednesday, June 4 and Thursday, June 5.

In keeping with this thrust, Jones, an expert in career counselling, will make a presentation on June 4 at a seminar for teachers and guidance counsellors from Jamaican schools on the subject “Recognise Your Skills; Make Them Work For You”. Jamaican psychologist, Dr Leahcim Semaj of the JobBank will be co-presenter at this seminar.

The following day, he will pay a courtesy call on the minister of education, Maxine Henry-Wilson.

On June 5, Jones and Semaj will participate in an open discussion on the subject “Developing Career Skills For the 21st Century”, at the same location.

Jones received his Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and earned his PhD in counselling psychology at the University of Missouri.

In addition to the on-line self-assessment tool called the Career Key, he has developed two other career guidance instruments used by career counsellors, Occ-U-Sort and the Career Decision Profile.

He is the author of the Encyclopedia of Career Change and Work Issues, selected as one of the “Outstanding 1993 Reference Sources” by the American Library Association.

His most recent book is Job Skills for the 21st Century, A Guide for Students.

He is an active member of the National Career Development Association, the American School Counsellors Association, and the American Counselling Association. He has written extensively for professional journals, served on the editorial boards of the Career Development Quarterly and the Journal of Counselling and Development, given numerous presentations at state and national conventions, is recognised as a National Certified Counsellor, served as a vocational expert for the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration, and has received a number of awards — including the American Counselling Associations’ Professional Development Award.

Over 50 exhibitors will participate in the Expo, which will also feature an Internet Café sponsored by Ultimate (Ja) Ltd, in which visitors will be able to access the Career Key.

JONES… has developed career guidance instruments used by counsellors