Starting on June 5, 10,000 Jamaicans will be hired to work on cruises abroad, says Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

Bartlett, who spoke to reporters after a ceremony at the Montego Bay Convention Center on May 27, said mass employment comes at a time when the cruise and tourism sectors are generally showing signs of growth and are a clear indication that Jamaican workers on the global stage they look positive.

“This is a very big deal and a sign that cruise shipping is back,” the Minister argued. 

“The cruise lines can recruit anywhere, and to express a commitment to hiring 10,000 of our countrymen and countrywomen is a sure sign of the confidence they have in our workers. We are talking about chefs, bellboys, room attendants, seafarers in general, just about in any department,” he added.

The minister pointed out that the cruisers will be recruiting, and Jamaicans only need to have a clean police file and a clean health list.

“Scores of Jamaicans have been working on the major cruise lines traveling all over the world for decades. Our workers have distinguished themselves in every department imaginable, and the cruise owners have taken notice. The best is yet to come because as soon as the cruise sector opens up more, you will see more of our people being recruited,” he said.

In recent talks with cruise officials, Bartlett said that Jamaica is still the country of first choice in terms of hiring workers, adding that “our work ethic and iconic stature are well known and will always give us that preferential edge anywhere in this region”.

Most of the major cruise companies have recently been in the global action of hiring workers, and Jamaica is, according to the numbers, one of the highest on their list.

This is not surprising, given that a large number of workers have been working on mega liners owned by Carnival and Royal Caribbean for decades, from which they have made a huge contribution to the Jamaican economy.

Bartlett said “the fact that these workers have made such significant contributions over the years to their country of birth would automatically qualify them for the newly formed pension schemes for tourism workers. 

They have, for years, been making significant contributions by way of remittances. They have been sending back much-needed foreign exchange into the local economy and have been the source of stability for many families,” he added.