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For decades, it has been lamented that better efforts must be made to train Jamaica’s labour force.

The Manpower Group’s Institute for Workforce Education and Development (I.W.E.D.) sought to address that issue with its corporate consultation held at the Terra Nova Hotel yesterday under the theme, “ Workforce Alignment for National Development, Profitability and Sustainability.”

After the day’s session, Our Today sat down with The Manpower Group’s CEO Don Gittens to evaluate the day’s proceedings and how to better train Jamaican workers.

“Training as a whole helps the national development of our country. When we see the unemployment rate at 3.7 per cent, we still have people who say they cannot find work. When you drill down and come from today’s consultation, we have youth unemployment of 10 to 11 per cent. How can we train those 10 to 11 per cent to be able to get jobs? What came from today’s consultation is that it is not the case that there are no jobs, but rather that people are not trained for them.

“We need the research to show us where it is that we have to train our workers,” explained Manpower’s CEO.

He stressed that it is imperative that Jamaicans be trained for the various sectors of the economy and that Jamaica cannot operate in silos; it has to be a national endeavour. 

According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), Jamaica’s total labour force now stands at 1,441,000, with a labour force participation of 68.4 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

The wholesale and retail industry is the largest employer. The working age group of between 25 to 54 years comprise the vast majority (83.4 %) of the employed population. 

Gittens is of the view that research is vital and has uncovered that some organisations have conducted research while others have not. It is essential, he says, that a national effort is made to bring together all the data so that, as a country, Jamaica can move forward.

 He continued: “Yes, companies want to make a profit, but they must also play their part in national development and see to it that they have a trained workforce that spurs economic development.. This consultation was about getting the right people in the right rooms to better see how we can better close the skills gap. What are the intentionalities? What are the specifics that we need to do? 

“Minister of Labour, Pearnel Charles Jnr, spoke about the labour policies he wants to implement and that he is willing to work with us to drive this forward. The Government is willing to be a part of the conversation. Ambassador Audrey Marks spoke to the structured migration programme, and that is an opportunity for Jamaica. We can train our people so that when they go overseas, they can have an impact, so that people want to come to Jamaica to find out why it produces so many skilled workers. This, in turn, will lead to greater investment in the country.

“The research is key. Building the workforce towers is also key, and making sure everything aligns is vital. At today’s consultation event, we had private sector representatives, Government entities, NGOs, and the conversation was around how we can get Jamaica to be a better, stronger economy. Our macroeconomic indicators look good, but the real question is, OK, what’s next? “

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all the rage now, and it is attracting heavy investment and shaping stock markets across the world. It is said that it will decimate the labour force in small island states such as Jamaica, where low-wage, low-skilled labour prevails.

Less than a century ago, Jamaican labour was primarily in the agrarian sector, then came tourism, retail and services, all sectors that AI can transform and reduce the need for labour. A  humanoid robot can bring you a cocktail on the beach as well as wipe down the bar at a resort.

The University of Technology (UTECH) and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) recently conducted a study that revealed that AI will wipe out 60,000 jobs in Jamaica, with women being the hardest hit.

With recent data pointing to a 4.1 per cent contraction of the Jamaican economy in the first quarter of 2026, and the PIOJ  holding the position AI will displace clerical and professional workers, does AI pose a threat to Jamaica’s workforce, throwing thousands on the scrap heap?

“Life is what you make of it, and it is about how you structure your life. AI can only enhance your work outcomes. If you look at it that AI will separate you from your job, then it probably will. 

“If you look at it, AI is going to enhance your profitability and productivity, so you will employ it. It depends on the culture and how institutions shape themselves around this technology. AI is here. It’s like the cell phone and cable TV-we just have to embrace it because it is not going away. It has been with us for a while, but it has been ramped up, and it has become more commercially viable. Once it is used in the right way, it will not replace the workforce.

For example, at Manpower, we recently began using robots to clean floors. The robots will not replace staff; if anything, they will make their jobs easier and more efficient. We will have to train people to manage the robots. So you see, it depends on how you look at it. If the narrative is that AI is going to take away my job, then that’s what is going to happen. But if the narrative is that AI is going to make me much more productive, then that’s what it is going to do. We have to make sure we have the right narrative as it relates to AI.”