Businessman Joe Issa Touts Policy Targeting Education and Productivity

Businessman and philanthropist Joe Issa who is known to spend millions of dollars a year on the education of Jamaican children is touting government policy geared towards improving education and productivity.

Joseph John Issa

“The focus on improving education and productivity is a good move as it will enable labour market reform and workforce productivity; these, along with greater value added and better worker compensation, constitute the main ingredients for high growth,” says Issa, adding that “there must be above-normal growth in order for the general living standard of citizens to significantly improve.

A former student of the London School of Economics (LSE) in the United Kingdom where he founded his first charity – Educate the Children Fund – Issa was speaking against the background of the increased need for the education system to generate skills and professions that are demanded by the market, something which Minister of Education, Youth and Information Hon Ruel Reid has been pushing.

Most importantly, Issa cites as critical, labour market reform in order to drive output and productivity as well as increase participation by more Jamaicans in the development process, which he says won’t happen until workers are educated and trained.

Pointing to the importance of labour market reform Issa says “it is critical that we change the market for workers to make it more flexible and efficient, thereby enabling employers to adjust the timing, level and deployment of its workforce to suit their needs,” stating “without it we will lose much needed foreign direct investments.”

In lauding the policy measures, which focus on improving and expanding vocational training, targeting skills and professions that are in high demand and reforming the labour market, Issa says the actions will ensure that the average man on the street participates in adding value at the highest level possible and benefits from economic growth.

In this regard Issa says he likes the new thrust by the ministry of labour and social security to become an economic ministry, “a greater force and stimulant for growth and development,” said the minister, Hon. Shahine Robinson in her contribution to the sectoral debate, acknowledging “the need to enhance labour management and administration.”

Cool Charities Unlocking Doors Through Education

They say that education is a way out of poverty; Joe Issa says it is the only way out. “It enables entry into the labour market or business at a higher level and offers more pay and greater freedom to choose, the better the quality.”

And he, more than most should know the value of a good education having attended the best schools and universities; that’s why Issa has focused on education in giving back to society.

Issa’s approach is two-pronged: His Cool Charity provides scholarships for bright children to attend a top university, while enabling the under-privileged group to catch on by improving their learning environment with books, collateral material, cupboards and air condition units.

The two-prong approach to giving back to education has been hailed a strategic one with elements of sustainability, by addressing the disadvantages early and giving affected children a fighting chance to become future scholarship candidates.

It was Nelson Mandela who once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” and he used it effectively to change many things throughout the globe, some while in jail and many on the outside, as President of South Africa.

Another famous figure, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. put it this way: “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” The civil rights leader delivered the famous speech “I have a dream” at a rally in Washington D.C.

But it was George Washington Carver who, like Issa, spoke of the beauty of education in giving people more choices when he said, “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.”

 

coolcorp.com/company/cool-charities

A COOL HALF MILLION A MONTH TO EDUCATION

Jason Alliman is a psychology freshman at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts.

His tuition and related fees total more than US$46,000 or J$3.3 million per year, a sum Jason says he would have had to borrow had it not been for the Cool Charities/Holy Cross Scholarship Fund operated by gasoline retailer Cool Corporation and the US College.

“It (the scholarship) does give me an advantage, but it’s hard to try to fully appreciate the value of the scholarship and of coming to Holy cross because, obviously, education is important but it doesn’t matter where you go to school much and what you study,” the St. George’s College graduate told the Sunday Observer from his dorm room at Holy Cross.

He is, however, happy that he was the “advantage” of not having “to worry about money and applying for loans.”

His mother Claudia, however, was les modest in her response. “He wouldn’t have been able to go had he not got it,” she laughed. “He’s right, we would have borrowed [because] we would have done anything to help him but he had to earn it,” she added.

Jason, like several other students from across the country has been benefitting from Cool since 1998 when executive chairman of the group, Joseph Issa, started the initiative to help students realize different aspects of their educational goals. The scholarship programme, which started out targeting beneficiaries from the company’s St. Ann headquarters, also includes a project called Computers 3000 Education Programme which donates computers and air conditioning units to educational institutions.

At Mar-Jam prep school in Ocho Rios, administrator Heather Maragh said the three computers handed over by the group of companies, which has diversified its products offerings to include phone cards and cash machines, have given more students access to the worldwide web.

“We’re really grateful to Cool because, usually, donations are given to government schools because the perception is that we’re rich, but that isn’t so. Most of the fees we earn go back out into salaries. They [donors] don’t realize the importance of private schools but with the population growing and public schools not being built, we have stepped into fill the gap,” she said.

The benefits to students at Exchange All-Age in the garden parish are just as invaluable, according to school secretary Lavern Mignott, who spoke with the Sunday Observer last week.

“The two computers have helped us to reach closer to the goal of having 24. With the new ones, we now have 11 and for group activities, it means that at least six more students are able to access computers,” she said.

“That helps both the students and the teacher because more groups can go per session and that means a shorter class time,” added Mignott.

Cool Corp has pledged to continue demonstrating a keen interest in the future of young people and says it will continue its support by giving $500,000 each month to education.

“The Fund is committed to spending a half of million dollars per month to assist the education sector across the island,” group marketing and promotions manager Kiran Daswani told the Sunday Observer.

“Mr. Issa is a strong believer that a solid education at the initial stages of learning will make a brighter and better Jamaica tomorrow. With this in mind, anything that the educational system in this country we are willing to take a look at and try and see where we can be of assistance,” she continued.

The Cool Charities/Holy Cross scholarship programme is not the only aid programme Issa has supported. While he was still a student at the London School of Economics, he organized the ‘Educate the Children Fund’ which raised more than £3,000 to purchase Mathematics and English text books for students in Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. He also spearheaded the establishment of Global Education 2000, which focuses on the physical improvement of schools, increasing literacy among young children and fostering better relations between schools and the communities in which they exist.

Dozens of Jamaican students have already received scholarships through the Fund to pursue degrees at Holy Cross College- Issa’s alma mater- and at other institutions in the United States.

“The Fund started out by assisting one student with a scholarship to a school in the US,” said Daswani. “We mainly focus on schools in the rural areas of Jamaica as we found that these schools were in more need. After the first scholarship more and more persons got motivated to apply and qualify for this opportunity to study abroad.”

Concerning the addition of projects to the scholarship fund, she said: “The projects we added are based on the needs of individual schools. The first project was called ‘Computers 3000 Education Improvement’ where we have donated more than 20 computers to schools and we have another 20 on the way.”

It was under that project that Cool presented the computers and air conditioning units to Mar-Jam prep and Exchange All-Age in July this year. At that time, they also donated equipment to six other schools in the Ocho Rios area: St John’s Mt Zion and Columbus prep schools, which received three computers each; Steer Town and Priory primary and junior high, each of which got two computers and two air conditions units; and the United Learning Centre which received two computers and one air condition unit.

They also donate textbooks to students who demonstrated academic excellence but who face financial challenges and are not able to buy material for school.

Cool Corp is the parent company for several companies bearing the Cool trade mark, including the Cool Oasis service stations, Cool Cards, Cool Cash, Cool Signs, Cool Gear, Cool Wind, Cool Automotive Distributors and Cool Petroleum which are spread across the country.

Work Cited: Sunday Observer