Lisa Hanna’s Career Advice for Jamaica’s Youth – Think ‘Brand Jamaica, Technology & Culture’

Jamaica’s social and economic future depends on the willingness of its young people to skip migration and instead, “think outside the box” in choosing their careers.

Speaking at a special assembly at the Hillel Academy in St. Andrew recently, Minister of Youth and Culture, Hon. Lisa Hanna, urged Jamaica’s youth to consider the myriads of opportunities for them to make money, still available and underutilized in Jamaica.

Some of these opportunities to which the Minister pointed include: Brand Jamaica, technology and “their rich cultural heritage.”

“As the Minister of Youth and Culture, I want to see Jamaican young people rise to higher heights. The culture that we have, there are so many opportunities, because there are so many things that you can do with culture over the world wide web to make businesses, to take yourselves on the world stage and have a global competitive advantage,” she remarked.

Minister Hanna added that “the great thing about the country that you live in, is that it is one of the top brands in the world. When you talk about Jamaica, it resonates with people. It gives them a good feeling. You are a part of the country and a fabric of the country and you are a part of what makes us a number one brand.”

Hanna gave the advice to the students after sharing her observation that many “young people are not very excited about Jamaica, not very excited about staying in Jamaica, not very excited about working in Jamaica, and not very excited about really seeing the potential and opportunities that really exist here.”