KINGSTON, Jamaica— Close to 10,000 people participated in the inaugural Health and Wellness Career Expo and Employment Fair, which was organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information.

The MOHW said in a media release on Friday, that a preliminary count shows that 2,907 people were screened for the over 600 job vacancies, while 6,694 students and other members of the public visited the displays.

The event, which was hosted at The University of the West Indies, Mona, was held on Wednesday and Thursday, under the theme ‘A career in health: Roadmap to Success’.

It showcased the range of careers in the health sector while affording members of the public the opportunity to access job vacancies islandwide, the MOHW said.

It added that the Career Expo & Employment Fair forms a part of the response to prevailing challenges to human resources for health, including the limited availability of professionals for some specialist areas, migration and competition from overseas recruiters.

Students in attendance at the inaugural Health and Wellness Career Expo and Employment Fair, which was organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information.

“We had a very good event, achieving precisely what we intended to, with thousands of participants benefitting from the insights into the different careers in health, while also taking advantage of the opportunity to vie for the current vacancies in the system,” said Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton.

“This initiative has no doubt helped to progress our journey to achieving goal four of the Vision for Health 2030 strategic plan for health: ‘ensuring human resources for health in sufficient numbers and competencies’,” the minister added.

The expo coincided with the visit of the Secretary of Health for the Philippines, Dr Teodoro Herbosa.

His visit yielded a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries that provides for faculty exchanges, as well as specialist training and knowledge and experience sharing in the areas of biotechnology, epidemiology, and healthcare management, among others.

“While discussions between sending and receiving countries have been taking place bilaterally among various countries, the need for a larger and inclusive dialogue [about human resources for health] has been evident for some time,” Secretary Herbosa noted, speaking at the opening ceremony for the expo on Wednesday.

“Today, we bring this issue into the spotlight, bringing the discourse outside the confines of board rooms and meeting halls, and into a wider audience of health professionals, policymakers, young professionals and the next generation,” he added.

“For this, I would like to congratulate the Jamaican Government, especially the Ministry of Health and Wellness, for orchestrating this historic event,” Herbosa said further.

In addition to the various careers in public health, also on show at the expo and employment fair, were the different professional groups in health, and the offer of enrichment sessions.