MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – Twenty-one disc jocks from Jamaica’s tourism sector have achieved international certification through the Tourism Enhancement Fund’s (TEF) innovative DJ Academy programme. The milestone was celebrated at the Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation (JCTI) Awards and Recognition Ceremony on December 5, 2024 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

At the ceremony, Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, highlighted how the programme bridges two crucial sectors.

“The DJ Academy represents the seamless blend of entertainment and tourism, two sectors that are pillars of Jamaica’s global appeal. By equipping our DJs with internationally recognised certification, we are not only enhancing the quality of our tourism product but also creating a platform for Jamaican talent to shine on the global stage,” said Bartlett.

In a broader vision for the industry’s future, Minister Bartlett outlined the strategic significance of professional certification.

“This certification of our DJs is to position them as experts in their fields. Providing international accreditation is to give them stackable credentials that they can use locally and internationally. This is part of the pivoting of tourism to professionalise the industry. We are satisfied that the sustainable future of tourism is not in casual labour, it is not in the labour arrangements as we now have them, because tourism is morphing into a far more sophisticated industry.

“We recognise there is a lot of talk about a short-term fix. But the fix that we seek is a long-term one – one that is sustainable. One which positions our tourism workers and stakeholders into an international space that enables respect for the quality of their work and the competence that they have,” said the minister.

The DJ Academy’s journey began in 2017, and it reached a pivotal milestone in December 2023 with City & Guilds Assured accreditation, cementing its position as a world-class training institution. The programme has since forged a partnership with HEART/NSTA Trust to strengthen its certification process for tourism sector DJs.

The initiative’s success is backed by concrete data: a 2017 Jamaica Tourist Board survey ranked music among the top five factors driving visitor satisfaction. To date, the Academy has equipped over 300 DJs with both technical mastery and crucial interpersonal skills essential for excellence in tourism entertainment.

When faced with pandemic restrictions in 2020, the Academy demonstrated remarkable adaptability by transitioning to the JCTI Learning Management System for online delivery, maintaining rigorous standards while expanding accessibility.

The programme’s impact is exemplified by graduates like Cohen “DJ Ross Gomery” Ming from Portland, who now serves as both DJ and Special Task Officer at Geejam. “Going through the programme transformed my knowledge of everything I knew about being a DJ. I did the assessment and passed with flying colours. I did my best, and I feel good about it because I can be an ambassador for a programme such as this. Hats off to TEF and the team that made it happen,” he shared.