KINGSTON, Jamaica — Stakeholders of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s work permit system have provided essential inputs regarding the design of the new system. The ministry is being supported by the Transformation Implementation Unit (TIU) to replace the current manual system.

Several stakeholders were consulted including the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency; JAMPRO; the Ministry of National Security and several other government and non-governmental organisations. The recently concluded stakeholder assessment is a critical component in advancing the project which will see the existing system moving from manual and paper-based, to an online, customer-service oriented system that will help to improve processing times as well as reduce errors in the work permit process.

Findings coming out of the assessment include the need for the centralisation of the work permit application process; improved efficiency with a reduction in the number of entities applicants need to interface with; as well as the provision of data. Additionally, it was recommended that the system which is expected to go live in 2022, be integrated with the ministry’s Labour Market Information System to enable Jamaicans to have access to data regarding vacant jobs for which work permit applications are being made locally.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Mike Henry said “the ministry is committed to ensuring that jobs for Jamaicans are not replaced by persons from overseas. The ministry is ensuring that work permits are granted to persons where there are no Jamaican counterparts or a shortage in the labour market and this system will help to achieve that.”

In the meantime, members of the work permit project team have completed two-hour study tours between 2019 and 2020 to Canada and the Cayman Islands to learn about the system used in those countries and gain knowledge about best practices for possible adoption and replication in Jamaica.