Financial literacy expert, Rose Miller is encouraging persons who have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19, to look at ways to monetise their skills to assist in earning an income.
“We all have gifts. Try and identify if there is a gift that you can use to earn an income. In fact, even while we are employed now, we do need more than one stream of income. Therefore, if we have a gift or talent, the aim should be to monetise that gift or talent to provide or boost your income,” she advised.
Mrs Miller, who is also the grants manager at the JN Foundation, gave this advice, while addressing a ‘JN Circle Catch Up’, a video series of conversations about how Jamaicans can come together to overcome various challenges associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
She encouraged persons to identify existing needs and seek to fill those gaps to earn an income. She noted that with the current high demand for masks and sanitisers, for example several persons and companies have either entered into these markets, or diversified their product line to take advantage of the opportunities.
“We need to be creative and think outside of the box, because there are opportunities, and, we should find the vision to tap into them,” she said.
To date, many persons have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The local tourism industry, which is has been hit hardest, accounts for some nine per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), and, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), the disruption will deepen. STATIN projects that the sector could lose up to 200,000 jobs.
The JN Foundation grants manager recommended that persons use the downtime presented by the pandemic to up-skill and re-train themselves. She noted that there are numerous online courses currently being offered, which anyone can access free of cost,
“We are going to come out of COVID-19, therefore, now is the time to re-train.”
Mrs Miller also encouraged Jamaicans to visit the JN Group’s website, at www.jngroup.com/covid-19help, for information about how the JN Group is assisting persons to respond to COVID-19, and watch upcoming segments of the ‘JN Circle Catch UP’ series, which will focus on coping during the pandemic. The series is broadcasted via Facebook Live weekly on The Jamaica National Group’s Facebook page at 6:00 p.m.
