MONTEGO BAY, St James — Education Minister Ronald Thwaites has called on the St James business community to increase its support of education in the parish, arguing that it will guarantee the continuity of well-trained professionals for the labour market.

Thwaites was addressing a luncheon staged by the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Thursday.

“May I call upon you in your generosity and in your own self-interest, because which business person here does not want good customers in the future and how will you get them if we do not have a good education system? Which business here, with the hope of expansion, does not want adequately trained and disposed employees, and where will you get them if not from a mature education system?” he asked.

The Education Minister also urged the business people to get involved in mentorship.

“There are many, many students, who do not have the influence of a mature person, a man in their community, or family environment. Ninety-two per cent of the teachers in this country are female… It is true that young women and young men need strong males in order to mature sufficiently,” he said.

Noting the Government’s commitment to improving outcomes in the education system, the minister informed the audience that the budgetary allocation for early childhood education has increased to 14 per cent this year, from three per cent in 2010.

At the secondary level, technical and vocational competencies have been infused, and focus is being given to enhancing competencies in English and mathematics.

Meanwhile, Minister Thwaites used the occasion to reiterate plans that the shift system at St James High School will be discontinued as of September of 2016, and that Herbert Morrison Technical High School will shortly become a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy.