PARLIAMENTARY secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Senator Warren Newby, on Thursday blamed Jamaica’s low rates of productivity on the present education system and vowed that a change would be effected under the leadership of the Jamaica Labour Party.

Reasserting views previously expressed by party members, Newby said the secret to achieving economic growth in this global marketplace rests largely on the education and training of our people through innovation and creativity infused with technology.

“Jamaica’s future is linked intrinsically to the fortunes of local business. In order for firms to survive the tide of globalisation, there needs to be an intense focus on business innovation and productivity,” Newby said.

He was speaking at an annual youth employment forum put on by the Jamaica Employers’ Federation and the Jamaica Youth Employment Network (JYEN) at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). The forum was the platform for the launch of JEF’s handbook: Ready for Work and Business which advises young people on how to get and keep jobs.

The senator lauded JEF and JYEN for publishing the book, declaring it a “step in the right direction to improving our productivity levels,” and a “must-read”.

He, however, painted a grim image of the state of employees’ preparedness for the working world.

“STATIN data shows that on average, 58 per cent of first-time job seekers from 2003-2005 did not attain a pass in any subject in their external school-leaving examinations at the secondary or tertiary level,” Newby said.

“More disturbing is the fact that during the same time frame, approximately 70 per cent of first-time entrants to the job market did not receive any formal training. With this quality, it is no surprise that in Trinidad and Tobago, labour productivity in 2005 was more than three times that of Jamaica.

“Theirs have been growing on average by approximately 3.4 per cent per annum over the last 10 years, while for the same period our own country’s productivity levels have declined by approximately .12 per cent per annum,” he pointed out.

The current situation, he said, was “untenable” and needed to be changed.

“…And it is a commitment that we are irrevocably guaranteeing to Jamaica,” Senator Newby assured.

On Thursday, he expressed disappointment at the number of students who turned out for the annual forum which seeks to promote employability, employment creation and entrepreneurship among the nation’s youth.

The event drew only a handful of students from a few schools in the corporate area. And, the senator did not hide his disappointment.

“I am proud to stand here this afternoon, but am somewhat saddened by the poor attendance of young men to this forum. It is indeed the clearest demonstration of which subset of youth we’re having problems with. But at the same time I must congratulate the young men who are here and say a special big-up to the ladies,” he remarked.

JEF’s CEO, Jacqueline Coke-Lloyd, also expressed displeasure at the low turnout, but said the students were not entirely to be blamed.

“Teachers ought to be recommending and encouraging, in a more meaningful way, that the students avail themselves of information, go to fora like this, watch the news, buy books, because that is the only way they are going to get the information that is going to help them,” she commented.