As Hanover reels under
the pressure of over one thousand per cent increase in murder, Past President
of the St Ann Chamber of Commerce Joe Issa is betting on the coming of a new
day for the embattled parish, whereby workers could triumph over criminals and
change the course of crime in that western region of Jamaica.
“I’m one of those who
believe there’s a correlation between unemployment and crime so that the higher
the unemployment rate the higher the crime rate.
“But things can change
for Hanover, as more jobs come into the area…Unemployment is the single most
influential factor causing crime to rise.
“I am happy for Hanover.
It has had its fair share of bad publicity, from lottery scam to murder. This
must be stopped in ts tracks and I think more jobs could bend the crime curve
downwards,” said Issa.
He was commenting on the
recent launch of a BPO operation in Sandy Bay, Hanover, which has the
poprtential of employing up to 4,000 people. The new facility will replace the
one being operated from the Montego Bay Freezone.
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| Joseph "Joey" Issa |
“Collective Solution, a
BPO company with more than 200 employees now operating out of the Montego Bay
Freezone, has bought the former Jockey Factory in Sandy Bay and is spending
US$2 million to prepare the facility for its operation,” the Gleaner reported.
The company, which is
also said to have a BPO site in the Philippines with 1,000 seats and Honduras, with
more than 700 seats, will have 28,000 square feet of factory space on the property.
Noting that the company
had bought the land, executive chairman Deron Quon is said to have expressed pride
in beeing the first BPO to do so, stating that his company wants to invest in
the people of the country, enrich them and help them to develop and grow.
“Our goal is to create an
environment that will keep people engaged, happy, inspired and growing,” Quon
was quoted as saying, describing the Sandy Bay facility as the Collective
Solutions campus.
Informing that his
company has a family culture which involves sharing common values and having mutual
respect for each other, Quon said the campus would be used to extend that culture.
According to the paper,
“retrofitting work now taking place on the Sandy Bay building should be completed
by September this year,” at which time the Montego Bay operation would move in.
He also said plans are afoot to eventually have 2,000 to 3,000 seats in the Sandy
Bay operation, possibly up to 4,000 seats, in phases.
Minister without
portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Dr Horace Chang,
is said to have described the BPO industry as “the way of the future”, and that
it offers opportunity for major increases in job creation.
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| Dr Horace Chang |
He said when the new operation
starts it would make a huge difference in the local economy and that the Government
was on a drive to expand the number of facilities that are available for
investments in the BPO industry.
The government promotes the
BPO sector through the Port Authority, the Factories Corporation, and in
partnership with the private sector.
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