Prime Minister Andrew Holness issued a call for an investment in human capital and an action-oriented engagement as the pandemic continues to reshape the labour force and the local economy. The PM was speaking at a United Nations, (UN) high-level virtual event on jobs and social protection for poverty eradication and sustainable recovery.
The PM noted the importance of investing in the country’s human capital and says there is a need for persons to be reskilled and upskilled as the world inches closer to the fourth industrial revolution.
Battered by the economic effects of the prevailing pandemic the Prime Minister says the time has come for middle-income countries to ready their labour markets for the fast-approaching fourth industrial evolution.
This as he says the pandemic has exposed myriad gaps and risks in the informal economies and lack in social infrastructures. Holness noted that countries such as Jamaica had to implement social protection and job policies to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the population.
Prime Minister Holness says despite the challenges the country was able to provide some form of social compensation for the vulnerable and poor. The Prime Minister also notes the importance for countries to invest in the green economy during this global crisis.
More in this CVM Live story from Neika Lewis:
