Jamaica Employer's Federation

The Young Entrepreneurs’ Association of Jamaica

The Young Entrepreneurs’ Association of Jamaica is a volunteer-driven non-profit organization with manage to support young people in business. The Association is aimed at business owners 45 years and under by providing them an opportunity to learn form each other’s experiences and take advantage of peer mentorship as they grow in business. The YEAJ is the ultimate community for young entrepreneurs across Jamaica who want to increase their chances of business success. Read more at http://www.yeajamaica.com.

The Jamaica Youth Employment Network (JYEN)

Youth employment issues were prioritised at the largest gathering of Heads of State and Government at the Millennium Summit in September 2000. Subsequent to this meeting, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, initiated the Secretary General’s Youth Employment Network (YEN), which represents an inter-agency partnership among the World Bank, the International Labour Organization and the United Nations to facilitate an alteration of the global challenge of youth employment.

The Jamaica Youth Employment Network was launched under the auspices of the JEF in September 2005 and was endorsed by the then Prime Minister of Jamaica, The Honourable Percival James Patterson in September 2005. The JYEN is unique as the only employer-lead YEN Lead country as well as the fact that it is the only YEN in the Caribbean. The target beneficiaries of the JYEN are: Youth in rural communities, youth with disabilities, youth living with HIV and AIDS, youth in inner city communities, young school leavers (secondary and tertiary institutions) and youth working on the street.

The Jamaica Business Council on HIV/AIDS (JaBCHA)

The Jamaica Business Council on HIV/AIDS is a JEF lead association with a mission to facilitate a structured business response to mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS by adopting policy, prevention and treatment strategies in the workplace. The vision of the Business Council is to develop a Jamaican business culture where people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are treated with respect and afforded the opportunity to work once they are able to and to encourage sustainable workplace prevention strategies in partnership with treatment agencies and to support efforts of reducing prevalence in the region.

The Executive Women’s Forum (EWF)

The JEF’s Executive Women’s Forum is a premier women’s organization of women who hold top positions in business, technology and professions in every segment of society – public, private and NGOs. The objectives of the EWF are to provide a for a in which executive women share common interests and challenges, form business and personal contacts, enhance the leadership skills of business and progressive women and advocate and facilitate the increased representation of women on boards and in executive positions.

Employers Care Initiative (ECI)

The Employers Care Initiative (ECI) was officially implemented in the year 2005 and presented at the JEF’s annual Convention with the first recipient being Jamaica AIDS Support for Life in 2005 and Agency for Inner-City Renewal in 2006. As the name suggests, ECI is an intervention by employers which seeks to improve and enhance the contribution of employers to the advancement of social causes within the society. In March 2006, a targeted programme was designed to target specifically unemployed youth in Inner City Communities with a pilot in the Community of Trench Town. The objectives being to prepare inner city youth for employment and business development.

JEF has over the years undertaken various Christmas projects through Club JEF, the social arm of the organization. Previous Christmas projects involved the provision of assistance to Children’s Homes in 2004 Reddies, Mathew 25:40 (HIV hospice for OVC) and the Women’s Crisis Centre November 2006, the staff determined that all Christmas Projects should be brought under the Employers’ Care Initiative (ECI) umbrella.

In December 2006, the staff of the Jamaica Employers’ Federation had determined that its annual Christmas Treat would not be similar to the ones previously undertaken, but that instead would make a meaningful and sustained impact in the lives of its beneficiaries. The decision was taken to identify some unsung heroes, by recognizing model families as Families of Excellence. Families of Excellence used in this context refers to families comprised of both mother and father, who against all odds continue to strive for the advancement of their families. We have noted that an enabling business environment is premised on a stable society which is influenced greatly by stability within the family.

Submissions were taken from members of staff of needy families fitting the ‘model family concept’. The submissions were then assessed and the one with greatest need identified. The Walters’ family was chosen as a model family in need of real assistance. The family comprises of Wilfred and Melanie Walters and their two sons Marlon and Odane, aged 16 and 13 respectively. Both children are students of the Donald Quarrie High School. In addition to maintaining averages of 70%, they are avid footballers and play for Phoenix All Stars Constant Spring. Mr. Walters is a bearer by profession, although he has aspirations of being a mechanic and Mrs. Walters is a domestic helper and sometimes works on sites to supplement the family’s income.

The family was totally confounded by the show of love and kindness when they received a presentation from the Executive Director of the JEF, Mrs. Jacqueline Coke-Lloyd of Training Scholarships valued at approximately $68,000 for Wilfred and Melanie Walters to pursue training in areas geared towards their personal and professional development. Other presentations to the family included:

• Uniforms provided by Davon Uniforms International Ltd.;
• $5,000 Gift Voucher complements of Super Plus;
• Football boots for Marlon and Odane respectively complements of Western Sports;
• $5,000 Gift Voucher courtesy of Progressive Grocers;
• A case of mixed parts complements of Caribbean Broilers.

Club JEF

Club JEF is the in-house club of the JEF Secretariat, which originated from the suggestions of staff for the facilitation of a social group. The objectives of Club JEF are that of fostering stronger internal and external social relations and responsibility among our staff. Some of the planned activities include: outreach projects, mentorship, trips, fundraisers, birthday club, inter-clubbing with other corporate clubs and the planning and implementation of any other form of social activities.

JBDC/JEF Business Information Centre

The JEF in partnership with the Jamaica Business Development Centre facilitated the launch a Business Information Centre in February 2007. The JAMBIC (Jamaica Business Information Center) was established in 2006 as part of the Jamaica Government Action Plan 'Implementing the Information Society in Jamaica'. The aim of the JAMBIC website is to deliver Government information and services to business 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from a single access point and with a consistent look and feel.

Information on the website is structured around the "life events" of a business, e.g. business start-up and development, paying taxes and employing staff. In addition to providing several hundred articles on a wide range of topics, the JAMBIC website also offers the following services:

• Links and contact details relevant to the subject on each page; and pointers to related subjects.
• A Forms section giving access to the most commonly used application forms, returns and other forms.
• Service Locator to find your local government services such as Tax, Fás and Enterprise Jamaica offices.
• What's New page keeping you up to date with Government information affecting business.
• A free Updates facility, informing you by e-mail when articles on JAMBIC are updated.
• Easy access to Government online services such as the Revenue Online Services and the Public Procurement Portal.