The hundreds of Jamaicancs who turned up at the HEART/NSTA St Andrew parish office on Hope Road, St Andrew, in June for a cruise ship recruitment fair, seeking jobs and the promise by the Ministry of Health that it will develop work opportunities for medical personnel abroad — as a method of retaining them in service — indicate how much Jamaicans want to work in countries that offer payment in hard currencies such as the United States and Canadian dollars.

Research sources indicate that Jamaicans only earn 1.5 per cent of average wage in the state of New York in the United States and so are unable to afford goods and services in Jamaica which are climbing in cost at a faster rate than in New York.

So jobs overseas are coveted by many on the island. The most popular jobs and the one requiring the least skill, farm work, is quite difficult to score however.

In order to secure farm work or hotel worker assignment overseas, it would appear that the surest method is to be politically connected.

Colette Roberts Risden, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, informed the Jamaica Observer in June that approximately 70 per cent of farm work applicants are recommended or provided by Members of Parliament (MPs).

She adds also, “Please note that recommendations also come from councillor’s, churches, trade unions, ministry offices, other civil society persons or groups.”

Altogether, a personal referral from known and influential members of civil society is a must.

Meanwhile, Roberts Risden, adds that vacancies are not determined by the pool database (applicants-in-waiting) but by the need of the overseas employers or agents. There are far more applicants, politically connected or otherwise, than there are jobs.

Selection

Roberts Risden shared with the Business Observer, “A selection exercise was recently completed in May [2022]. With the completion of that exercise, approximately 3,500 workers are now in our database for placement in jobs overseas.

“The waiting time varies depending on how quickly or how many new workers are needed by employers. It is hard to predict the farm worker needs for the year. However, based on historical average, we expect to place approximately between 1,200 and 1,500 new workers each year.”

She did not provide data on hotel worker demand.

Access for new applicants becomes more difficult because there is an established pool of experienced workers who go back to the same jobs overseas each year.

Roberts Risden noted however, “Some persons leave the programme through attrition due to age, health, persons no longer interested in programme and or non-request from employer.”

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) runs the overseas employment programme. Currently the ministry dispatches workers for employment in the agricultural and hospitality sectors in the United States and the agricultural sector in Canada.

The MLSS said earlier this year that demand for agricultural workers has remained steady as these are regarded as essential workers and their movement was not affected by the travel restrictions imposed under the pandemic.

According to government source, “Prospective candidates must ensure they have farming experience; are literate; are in good health; possess a valid Jamaican passport; are free of any criminal record; have not been deported from any country; and have not have been previously disqualified from any overseas employment programme due to medical or other reasons.”

In June 2020, one hundred and sixteen farm workers for the United States, under the seasonal work programme between Jamaica and the United States. The batch, all returning workers, were dispatched to the Gebbers Farm in Washington, where they will be reaping apples.

The MLSS said in a 2022 update that generically, pay and benefits for migrant workers have remained the same. It did not share the details of pay and benefits.