Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!
Bunting eyes ICT employment boost
By: Alicia Sutherland | Jamaica Observer
September 08, 2014
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Central Manchester Member of Parliament Peter Bunting says “hundreds, if not thousands” could be employed here by next year in an Information Communication and Technology (ICT) project now being developed.
The MP told Comrades at a Central Manchester constituency conference recently that preparatory work is in progress at a Black Brothers Incorporated-owned property on Ward Avenue. Bunting, who is also minister of national security, said the project is being funded through the facilitation of a loan by the Development Bank of Jamaica.
“Work is underway; Tank-Weld is the main contractor. It is due for completion by December and I anticipate that hundreds, if not thousands could be employed there by 2015,” Bunting told his audience at Manchester High School.
Bunting said completion of the project would be fulfilment of a 2011 election promise made by the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) that Mandeville would be targeted for ICT growth.
Two years ago, during a tour of Manchester to assess the ICT potential, technology minister Phillip Pauwell declared that “Mandeville creates real opportunity for Jamaica, especially at the upper end of the ICT spectrum”. He spoke at the time of “very positive feedback we have received from investors who now accept that Mandeville has a tremendous number of capable human resources. We have a critical ICT infrastructure, telecommunications is available and it’s competitive…”.
Paulwell said then that the historic Manchester Golf Course was an added attraction for investors. Also, he said, Mandeville was becoming more attractive because of reduced travel time to and from Kingston as a result of the continuing development of Highway 2000.
Mandeville’s promotion as a potential ICT hub has gathered momentum since the downturn of the bauxite/alumina industry which, for decades, had spurred economic growth.
Bunting, who was among those on the 2012 tour with Paulwell said that through a possible negotiation with bauxite company Windalco, the Government could take over up to 30 acres of land in the Williamsfield area and set up diverse ICT-related businesses making the area a “hub in and of itself”.
The designation of Mandeville as a university town is another area in which political representatives, business leaders and academics see potential for economic development in Manchester.
However, Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites, in the main address at the constituency conference, pointed to other vital areas of education that need attention in order for that hope to be realised.
“I believe in your dream of becoming the university town, but you can’t be a university town until you (are) dealing with the fundamentals of infant school, primary school and secondary school. You can’t build a house on a weak foundation,” he said.
Thwaites encouraged those present to partner in the quest for education transformation. He called for appropriate education and training to meet the expectations of a global job market.