Being male could determine employment in Jamaica
A survey by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and the International Labour Organisation has found a relationship between being male and being employed.
“We… found that there is a correlation between being a male and being employed,” said Steven Kerr, manager of the PIOJ’s Human Development Unit. “Maybe the economy is in such a way where it is easier for a male to find work than it is for a female, even though we found that more females were in school,” he added.
He was speaking on the basis of findings from the survey, called the School to Work Transition Survey, which was launched at the PIOJ’s offices last Wednesday.
Against the background of the relationship between gender and employment status, the survey recommended that gender-biased subject selection processes at grade nine s hould be phased out. It also suggested an expansion of peer counselling programmes in schools with incentives to attract more males to the education and training system.
The research revealed, in the interim, that there were five main obstacles to finding a suitable job. They include having no suitable training opportunities; unsuitable general education; the lack of available jobs; no education; and unsuitable vocational education.
Thirty per cent of persons employed in Jamaica were also found to have received some level of vocational training even as older persons were found to be more likely to be employed.
“In terms of the type of training received, we found hospitality skills, automotive skills and beauty care skills,” Kerr said, adding that many of those who participated in the survey “believed that the (job) market was saturated to some extent and they wanted to learn other things”.