Long before the impact of Hurricane Melissa in late October, not just large, commercial employers but householders and others have had to deal with extreme labour shortages in construction and related areas.

The situation has got much worse since Melissa, with carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers, etc, being hard to find, very expensive, and virtually doing clients a favour when they turn up. Such is the volume of available work that they pick and choose.

In the recent debate regarding the long-running controversy on transfers of billions of dollars annually from the National Housing Trust (NHT) to the Consolidated Fund, Government Senator Kavan Gayle made a most timely, if obvious, intervention.

A leading trade unionist, Mr Gayle observed that, while funding for building houses is essential, labour shortage is a huge hindrance and getting worse.

Our leaders have often spoken to the urgency of finding solutions, including the highly unpopular notion of importing skilled labour.

In April, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that, while there must be focus on local skills training, meeting immediate labour needs is pressing. He suggested that “[W]e may have to consider strategic and selective ways [for] industries to continue to produce by supplying them or allowing them to get the labour that they need.”

That’s in a context of record high employment, despite the seeming contradiction of relatively low participation in the labour force at an estimated 67 per cent.

For Jamaicans, a constant concern is the evidence of idle, unskilled young men standing around “digging out their hand middle”, along with young women, similarly unskilled, who also appear to have little or no interest in paid work.

We know that many don’t bother to ‘look work’ because the minimum wage — or just above — earned from unskilled jobs can barely cover transportation and meals.

Sadly, but inevitably, some resort to crime, including scamming and other forms of hustling to survive, even thrive.

Senator Gayle correctly noted that a contributor to the skills shortage is migration. Much is made of nurses, doctors, teachers, etc, who leave. But the departure of vocationally trained personnel for North America and elsewhere is also a negative — balanced, of course, by the big plus from hard currency remittances.

We don’t expect that reality to change in a hurry, despite current uncertainties surrounding travel to the United States.

To deal with the shortfall, Senator Gayle wants an even more aggressive and proactive approach than is now the case.

Let’s make no mistake, the evolution of the HEART/NSTA Trust — first introduced by the Edward Seaga-led Jamaica Labour Party Government of the 1980s — has gone a far way in transforming skills training. But Senator Gayle wants more.

We particularly like his call for coordinated national response involving government agencies, employers, labour representatives, and training institutions; and a dedicated partnership between the NHT and HEART/NSTA Trust aimed at producing skilled construction and related workers.

He also urges a change of attitude from employers who want experienced workers but are reluctant to spend on training.

Clearly, there has to be a strong, determined push by Government to get all stakeholders on board in a comprehensive push for sustained vocational training across the land.

Even with success, the current skills gap won’t be filled overnight. However, we have to start somewhere.