Dear Editor,

On the three-day journey from August 9-11, there were over 1,000 enthused NCU graduates, while earlier in this month there were over 1,500 graduates from the University of the West Indies, and there is no doubt that the University of Technology, Jamaica, reflected about the same number of graduates. Bear in mind that there are numerous other tertiary institutions that I have not mentioned which also had recent graduation ceremonies. So after 3-4 years of late-night studies, and nerve-wracking exams, and just basically hard labour, what is there to celebrate about?

Do they celebrate the fact that they are still sane, made the honours list, and can now walk out into the world armed with degrees? But, what world will they walk into? Oh, welcome to the world of unemployment.

Most of these graduates have not been able to receive a job, nor do they see any promising signs. Did I mention that our job fairs are already jam-packed and bursting at the seams, with so many leaving them without employment? With so many qualified graduates, tapping their feet and waiting, what is the government doing?

We remember the famous promise of “jobs, jobs and more jobs”, which encouraged so many voters to dash to polling stations to mark their “X”. Can the JEEP accommodate all these graduates or even just squeeze one more? We as a country do not see or hear of the Government, specifically the Minister of Labour, doing anything to invest in this country’s wealth.

The Government needs to make the public aware of the employment-boosting ideas they have and not just leave these young people hanging. Additionally, they need to implement a long-term employment system which guarantees job opportunities for our graduates, as obviously the JEEP is at the repair shop or it has indeed been repossessed.

Tash-Shawna Doeman

tashshawna@stu.ncu.edu.jm