KINGSTON, Jamaica – Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr, says labour productivity is key to driving transformative growth and ensuring Jamaica’s sustainable development.

Addressing the HEART/NSTA Trust’s Sub-Regional Summit 2023 at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston on Thursday, the minister said he believes in a people-centred approach to driving productivity, which “places individuals at the core of our strategies and our policies”.

“So, when we define policies, we must use the data to help us to make sure that our skills training is going to fill needs and not just your own desire to have 1,000 tilers but to connect the dots between sectors to make sure that our productivity is starting in the decision-making phase,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Minister Charles Jr said the nature of work is undergoing profound transformation with the advancement of technology, including the automation of repetitive tasks and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in human resource processes.

“This demands a re-evaluation of our approach to improving productivity in the workplace. We have to be able to use this [AI] to our benefit and not make it reside as a threat,” he stated.

Minister Charles Jr further shared that it is the responsibility of regional governments to equip their labour forces with the tools needed to thrive in this “dynamic environment”.

“It doesn’t matter how much technology you have; you could have AI ‘til kingdom come. It cannot work without the right human capital, without the right skills, training and development for further advancement of our economies,” he stated.

The three-day Sub-Regional Summit, which commenced on November 22, was held in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO)/Cinterfor, under the theme ‘TVET: A Pillar for Social and Economic Change in the Caribbean’.

– JIS