KINGSTON, Jamaica — More than 600 jobs are available at this week’s Health & Wellness Career Expo & Employment Fair, organised by the Ministry of Health & Wellness (MOHW) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information.

The expo and job fair is being hosted at The University of the West Indies, Mona on January 22 and 23 under the theme, ‘A Career in Health: Roadmap to Success’.

The two-day event affords members of the public the opportunity to apply for the more than 600 job vacancies that are available islandwide.

The MOHW said there are vacancies in all categories in the ministry including records and research officers, monitoring and evaluation officers, drivers, office attendants and accountants, managers and directors in programme management, doctors, nurses, psychologists, health informatics professionals, among others.

Individuals who are interested in applying for the available posts only need to attend the expo and job fair with their resume.

The MOHW said that the expo and job fair responds to prevailing challenges to human resources for health, including the limited availability of professionals for some specialist areas, migration and competition from overseas recruiters.

“This event will progress Jamaica’s journey to ensuring human resources for health in sufficient number and competencies, aligned to the model of care and committed to the mission to safeguard the best possible health outcomes for all,” said Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton.

“As a Ministry of Health & Wellness, we are committed to getting ahead of the human resources for health challenges. The scale of this event and its prioritisation of the needs of students, career changers, jobseekers and others who are curious to find out what it takes to succeed in public health is a clear indication of that,” the minister added.

In addition to the opportunity to apply for the available vacancies, the event will showcase the range of career options as well as the different professional groups in health. Attendees will also have the benefit of enrichment sessions that feature, among other things, resume writing and how to finance a career in health.

The latter includes exposure to the Dr Barrington Wint Scholarship which makes available up to $1 million per recipient for up to five years. Named in honour of Dr Barrington Wint, a former chief medical officer, the scholarship is open to Jamaicans pursuing health studies.