Productivity centre to do workplace training
Published:Friday | January 14, 2011 | 12:00 AM
The Jamaica Productivity Centre (JPC) has joined forces with the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Educational Institute on a new workplace productivity training programme, starting this month.
The centre also announced Tuesday that it had taken on Japanese expert Akira Tonouchi, whose services have been offered through the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers: Senior Programme.
The volunteer programme is an initiative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Tonouchi, an engineer, has been providing productivity support to businesses for the last 20 years, JPC said at a breakfast forum in Kingston. He replaces Makoto Oyama whose two-year tenure with the JPC ended in January.
Tonouchi's stint with JPC will also run for two years.
The JPC on Tuesday also laid out plans for the year to the business community.
The new workplace programme is meant to change mindsets, the state minister for labour and social security, Andrew Gallimore, said at the breakfast forum hosted by JPC.
"Basically, we will be hand-picking employees in organisations and training them to be productivity champions, so that they will have an in-house representative that has productivity training, who can help to change the culture within the organisations where they work," he said.
"... We need to get every Jamaican thinking about increasing productivity, because all of us want a better life and the only sure way we are going to get it, is to drive productivity."
The JPC, whose partners include the trade unions, the federation of employers and the Government, conducts audits; offers training; and designs productivity improvement programmes.