Just over 4,000 job cuts have been announced since January across a spectrum of companies, but there are areas in which jobs continue to open up, even in the current downturn.

Jamaican institutions are out recruiting teachers and lecturers, especially those with specialist skills, from the level of high school to university.

Jobs advertised

The human resources management department of the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, for example, advertised this month on Craiglist (www.craigslist.com), for senior lecturers in music education, analytical/environment chemistry, in mathematics, English, internal medicine, nephrology, medical physics and biomedical engineering, and for a medical officer.

PhDs in the relevant positions were also listed.

On Jamaica's north coast, ministry of education officials say they are particularly short of Spanish teachers as well as mathematics and science tutors in local high schools.

In the area of science, chemistry and physics, teachers are needed.

"We have not been able to source these readily," says Maxine Edlam, director for the Ministry of Education Region Three office which incorporates schools in the parishes of Trelawny, St Ann and St Mary.

To the same extent, she notes, that the ministry is unable to find technical and vocational teachers in woodwork, metalwork, electrical, building construction and related areas.

"We have had to be relying on artisans," said Edlam.

The regional director says she has been informed that persons with certification and skills choose to go to Canada - which is recruiting professionals globally - where they are paid well for their talents.

Qualified leaving

"They are qualified and so they leave," said Edlam.

"They prefer to work within industry instead of teaching."

Edlam is concerned that the artisans being used in the classroom, while "they bring to the table a lot of skills and experience", may not be able to tackle all aspects of the curriculum in terms of preparing students for the CXC examinations.

"That is where our concern is. They do a good job in teaching the practicals, but we remain concerned, as our students are not advancing," she said.

"Often, out of a class of 30, only 11 students can be sent for the examinations and of this number, there might be only five passes."

She adds: "It is not always the teachers' fault as there are illiteracy issues. But, the fact is, the colleges have not been training enough teachers with industrial skills and those that they do train often elect to go abroad. The demand is simply more than the supply."

In the case of Spanish, Edlam said that students who pass the subject at CXC level are choosing to go into areas like law or international relations over teaching, and the colleges have not been sending out Spanish graduates to meet the demand.

avia.ustanny@gleanerjm.com