Office of the Prime Minister

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The old Goodyear tyre factory in Eastern St. Thomas could be occupied by year end by e-Services Group International (e-SGI), which has expressed interest in the facility with a view to occupying it.

This could see a significant creation of jobs in the parish as well as improvements in infrastructure, and additional career opportunity for young persons.

This was disclosed to JIS News by President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of e-SGI, Patrick Casserly, following a tour of the Goodyear facilities yesterday (June 26). The tour was encouraged by Minister without Portfolio with Special Responsibility for Development, in the Office of the Prime Minister, James Robertson, who said e-Services was growing rapidly and that the organization was in need of more space.

"The building is exactly what we're looking for. In terms of our timeline it has to be within this year. In terms of expansion we have no more physical space so in order to continue growing we need another building," Mr. Casserly said.

He said the next step for the group now that they have inspected the building, which is owned by the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ), was to begin looking at the demographics and to see how many students are graduating in the area, and what the capacity could be for employment. "I think this is a new way forward for St. Thomas. This hasn't been tried here before and I think it can be successful," he said.

Minister Robertson who is also the Member of Parliament for the area, pointed out that he has put a lot of effort into the project and noted that when it gets off the ground, the initial employment of persons would boost economic prospects for the parish.

He disclosed that he had discussed with Transport and Works Minister, Michael Henry, the arrangement of a meeting with the e-Services Executive Management, to discuss some of the challenges with the road network and other infrastructure.

Mr. Robertson also noted that other stakeholders would be approached for occupancy of the Goodyear facility but that e-Services would be the first.

Meanwhile, Gary Lee Henry, Councillor for the Eleven Miles/Llandewey area of St. Thomas, said he was encouraged by the development and would be making the residents aware of it. "As you know unemployment is high so I will have to go back and talk to them and mobilize them and see what educational background they have toward this project," he said.

E-SGI is a local-based call centre operation, which offers off-shore call centre and back office processing solutions for North American companies. The company currently employs nearly 4,000 persons in Jamaica, the majority of which are locals.

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