Since the launch of its Hustle On campaign in 2019, telecommunications provider, FLOW Jamaica has provided job opportunities for close to 200 young Jamaicans in the areas of sales, sales support and logistics across its several Business-to-Consumer (B2C) locations.

Omel Collins, a sales agent at FLOW believes many more young people could benefit if given similar opportunities as those offered by the telecommunications company.

“I’m very happy for the training that came with the job at Flow,” said Collins. “They really helped me to grow in the business to the point where I’m now a supervisor of my team. It really changed my life for better, as I am now more financially independent,” he shared.

Omel along with his colleagues participated in a comprehensive training programme organized by FLOW to adequately prepare them for their respective job areas. Tresha Wilson, another sales agent with the company, said she was very hopeful about her future.

“I am one of the main breadwinners for my family and with this job, I can now work to help to provide for members of my family who are not as fortunate as I am. I am now better prepared and even more hopeful than I was before I got the job,” she said.

Data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica indicate that the unemployment rate among youths aged 14 to 24 years declined by 2 per cent in July 2019 to 20.2 per cent—down from 22.2 per cent in July of the previous year.

Whitney Fennell, Senior Director for B2C Sales and Distribution, is of the view that, providing opportunities for young people to gain experience and enable their progress is a significant contributor to the growth and development success of any society. “It has been a win-win programme for FLOW and the communities in which our new recruits reside,” said Fennell. “Flow believes in empowerment and we have been able to assist many of the persons we employ on the path to realizing their dreams. We equip them with new and practical skills that enable them to learn more about and adapt to the demands of a dynamic telecommunications industry.”

The new recruits are put through a comprehensive onboarding and training programme that was launched at the Jamaica Conference Centre in April 2019. They are required to participate in three weeks of classroom training on areas including Introduction to the Telecommunications Industry, Product Knowledge, Customer Service and Soft Skills. Subsequent to the training sessions, they are assigned coaches and ‘development buddies’ who assist with reinforcement of the learning material, company standards and general motivation in the execution of their respective roles. A major benefit to the new employees is their ability to earn commissions and incentives by exceeding sales targets and delivering quality sales while ensuring that they maintain FLOW’s high customer experience standards.