Socialisation, not just academic training, is important if young Jamaicans are to be properly prepared for the rapidly changing global environment, said Education Minister Maxine Henry Wilson.

“Education is not only about what happens in the classroom but we are talking about developing the whole person,” Henry-Wilson told representatives of several high schools from St Elizabeth and Manchester during a student development seminar at the Anglican Church Hall in Mandeville recently.

Under the theme “Quality Service – Our Future”, the seminar was organised by All Professional Training Service, a Mandeville-based private entity which provides training for school leavers and young people.

Henry-Wilson noted that a major hurdle in the Jamaican society was that there were some who had never learnt how to live with each other as “social beings”.

In addition to the community and family and institutions such as the church and youth clubs, the school had to play a lead role in helping young people to understand that they must respect others, respect authority and respect themselves, she said.

It was essential in Jamaica’s growing service economy, that young people learnt such basic principles in order to function productively, the education minister said.

“In Jamaica it is often said that we don’t like service, because we equate it with servitude. But service is not servitude, to serve means to be able to commit yourself. It requires self-esteem and a desire to ensure that what you do is seen as having quality. There must be a sense of pride in doing what you do,” she said.

Such an attitude was imperative if Jamaica, using its people as a prime resource, was to compete in the tough global environment. Increasingly, she said, people would have to be trained and socialised with global needs in mind.

It was also important that everyone recognised that career paths should not be restricted to the traditional. On a global scale, career opportunities were opening up in such areas as sports and culture and their support services, to a degree not seen before, she said, pointing out that an increasing number of Jamaicans were making their mark in these areas.

“Life does not owe us anything more than opportunities, we have to grasp them,” said Henry-Wilson.