Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica (IMAJ)

by their government when they are working overseas.” IMAJ continues to lobby and encourage the government to move on the issues, and the organization also acts as a resource entity because the documents they produce are used by government departments for tracking labor and making their projections – even the Statistical Institute of Jamaica uses them. In keeping with the By-Laws of the Association, IMAJ has incorporated the Electrical Contractors Association of Jamaica, the Jamaica Air- conditioning Refrigeration & Ventilating Association, the Women’s Construction Collective and the Association of Construction & Engineering Students as members of the Executive Council and they have a seat at the table. The overall industry is huge so the idea is to have an umbrella body where everybody can have a voice. A place where issues can be vented and advocacy can be assigned to those issues. Speaking to the diversity of the industry these days, Kelly acknowledges, “There is a good number of women in construction in Jamaica – at the supervisory level and as tradespeople. They do steel work, masonry, carpentry, painting, plaster work. It’s a joy to watch them, they tend to be very focused.” IMAJ also offers a certification program in collaboration with HEART College of Construction Services (HCCS) that involves onsite evaluation of tradesmen who don’t have a trade certificate. “In the industry, the vast majority of workers have not had formal training,” says Kelly. “They apprentice on the job and learn the skills. In our partnership with HEART, our contractor members send them supervisors and then HEART will train those supervisors in how to evaluate the workers onsite because the workers already work under their supervision every day. So you assist them with their weaknesses and get the best ones certified first and then start working with the others. Then we communicate and make an application on their behalf with HEART, the