ST JAMES, Jamaica— Minister of Tourism and Wellness Edmund Bartlett says the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI) is well on its way to achieving its target of certifying some 8,000 workers over the next five years.

He noted that the facility, launched in 2017 as the training arm of the ministry, has already facilitated the certification of more than 1,340 persons, in partnership with the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) and the American Culinary Foundation (ACF).

“We have put in place a framework to equip our tourism workers to capitalise on the growing opportunities for high-skilled employment in the tourism and hospitality sector,” he said.

He noted that the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, “will help the sector achieve its human capital development goals through programmes of study at its first-ever Graduate School of Tourism to be established at its Western Jamaica campus by next year”.

The minister was speaking at the Golden Tourism Day Awards held recently at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James, where 34 persons were recognised for 50 years or more of service to sector.

Bartlett said that the significance of professional certification cannot be overstated, and is a major component of the ministry’s initiatives to enhance the welfare of tourism workers.