Jamaica Productivity Centre

The National Productivity Conference is an annual event put on by the Jamaica Productivity Centre (JPC) and its partners – Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Jamaica Employers Federation and Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions to promote and facilitate productivity improvement at the national, sectoral and corporate levels.

Under the theme “Going the distance for Global Competitiveness” the conference which ran from October 28 to 30, sought to provide tools and techniques, as well as knowledge to our participants, thereby raising their productivity competence and consciousness.

The conference had five components an Opening Ceremony which featured Prime Minister the honourable Bruce Golding as the keynote speaker; a productivity leadership dialogue which saw top decision makers in the public and private sector, coming together to discuss the productivity challenges affecting Jamaica.  

A public sector confab, which was a collaborative effort of the MOU III Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and the JPC to raise awareness about productivity within the public sector, exchange information and streamline productivity initiatives in accordance with the provisions of the MOU III. The other components of the Conference were the General Practitioners’ Sessions, and Tourism Industry Practitioners’ Sessions.

In his address at the Opening Ceremony Prime Minister Bruce Golding, said there is a need for specific initiatives and policies to be put in place if Jamaica’s productivity level is to increase. He pointed out that emphasis also needs to be placed on the government operating as one unit. The Prime Minister added that if Jamaica is to achieve the desired levels of productivity, there will have to be a cultural transformation that involves a change of attitude to work, and the workers attitude to both work and management.

The Centre collaborated with a number of entities to pull this conference together namely the HEART TRUST/NTA, Public Sector Development Programme, and the Ministry of Finance and Public Service MOU III secretariat. These entities played an integral role in the planning and execution of this conference, their contribution was central to the success of the 2008 National Productivity Conference. The collaboration speaks volumes to the fact that “Productivity is everybody’s business.”

The 2008 National Productivity Conference has come and gone but the lessons learnt from the presentations made through out the conference, serve as a testament to all, that there is a lot of work to be done if Jamaica is to become Globally Competitive.