Canada heavily recruiting Jamaican workers and nurses
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4,000 jobs will be made available to Jamaican workers in western Canada over the next 5 years. Most of the jobs will be in the area of construction and the government plans to place at least 500 individuals in this sector by January ‘08, but many other jobs will be available in the medical and hospitality sectors as well. The Labour Ministry was barraged yesterday by 250 enrolled and practical nurses seeking to fill only 50 Canadian positions. Many of the nurses expressed that they were underpaid and under appreciated if they were able to find a job at all, so they were taking their chances at gaining employment abroad. These positions will be in Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. When speaking with the JamaicanObserver, Jamaican university professor Michael Patterson stated, “The Okanagan Valley is an employee’s paradise; you can get just about any job you want,” said Patterson, who has lived in Canada for nine years. “Most Jamaicans concentrate their efforts in going to Ontario, but when you look at what jobs are available there, compared with Western Canada, it’s like chalk to cheese.” The area looks beautiful. This a great opportunity for some and a wonderful gesture by the Canadian government.
2 comments ↓
Understandably, we live in a global market and the mobility of workers with respect to Jamaican labor is not a new or novel phenomenon.Historically,Jamaica has sent workers to Panama to build the Panama Canal, pre Fidel Castro Cuba to cut sugar cane,Great Britain,the United States and Canada among other places to various and sundry jobs.Workers will always try to improve their opportunities and increase their wages/salaries in labor markets that/which are more attractive economically.Comparatively,opportunities and wages in Jamaica vis-a-vis the Okangan Valley, British Columbia is limited and marginal.Hence,a massive interest in such jobs on the part of Jamaican labor.Unfortunately,this results in a massive brain drain, especially, of nurses and other related professions which over time impacts on development.Interestingly,such mobility of Jamaican labor to metropolitan societies results in a significant amount of remittance income, which in recent years has become one of the major sources of hard currency/foreign exchange for the island.Notwithstanding,it is tragic when we as a society lose highly skilled professionals who are interested in playing a role in the development of the island,but in all reality,the economic pressures, constraints and socio-political problems of a no growth economy couched within the larger context of globalization are the crucial determinants or variables which inevitably lead to decisions of immigration on the part of our skilled and professional labor force.RESPECT!!
Hi Esteban,
Yeah it is indeed an unfortunate reality, especially since this migration leads to so many single and no-parent homes in Jamaica.
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