Kingston.
Minister of Labour and Social Security Derrick Kellier has warned Jamaicans to make sure organisations offering training and overseas employment are legitmate.
Speaking to the graduating class of Health Education and Counselling Institute (HECOIN) at the Montego Bay Convention Centre last evening for 248 students who were trained to take up employment in Canada under the Temporary Overseas Employment programme, the Minister said:
"Too many times we have some fly-by-night institutions that come and set up their tents by morning and take it up in the night, and after you have come and made arrangements and handed over your hard-earned cash, some of you have to scrape up for yourself or borrow from your parents and friends and when you go back tomorrow morning, they disappear."
Kellier, however, warned that the ministry would not sit idly by.
"We are not going to allow that to continue in the Jamaica labour market," Kellier told the gathering.
He warned that with identity theft on the rise, people should guard fiercely their personal information,
"Do not give personal details to anyone unless you know who you are dealing with, for in this age of identity theft, you have to guard your personal details very carefully." He advised that people should not be quick to surrender information and money to recruiters of no reputation.
"Let no one without a solid track record convince any of you to pay over money as guarantee of employment to Canada or the Canadian overseas employment programme'', the Minister warned.
