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MONTEGO BAY, St James - Faced with a shortage of trained workers and a boom expected in the local hospitality industry over the next three years, the tourism ministry is offering free certification courses as it pulls out all the stops to find a way out of the problem. The courses, being offered by the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI), a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), target youngsters who wish to pursue a profession in the sector, said JCTI director Carol Rose Brown."Our country is set to add 15,000 hotel rooms. You may not know this, but Trelawny is about to become the parish with the greatest number of hotel rooms in Jamaica. We have to find people to work in these hotels," she said during the Tourism Product Development Company Limited (TPDCo) Youth Expo at Montego Bay Convention Centre on March 29."The current shortage of workers is an indication of our need for new trained, certified people ready to get into the sector," she added.Addressing secondary and tertiary hospitality and tourism students studying in St James, Rose Brown said these new developments will require workers from all sectors coming together in the tourism industry."The rapid development of the accommodation sector requires a whole array of people. We need engineers, architects, accountants... people who understand environmental science to manage our beachfronts," said the director.Underscoring the importance of these certification courses, Rose Brown encouraged both high school and tertiary level students to take advantage of this opportunity to become well-trained hospitality workers."We really want to invite you to join what we believe is the biggest industry on the planet. There are opportunities all around the world, these certifications are not only valid in Jamaica, but they are transferable," she said."If you are a college student, please speak to your department head. The certification is available to you free of cost, and we are doing this because we want to ensure that there is a ready, trained certified population ready to deliver on the promise of brand Jamaica. If you are interested in being a chef, speak to the department head and say, 'I am interested in joining the next cohort of candidates waiting to be a chef," she added."If you are a high school student, speak to your guidance counsellor and indicate that you would like to do a hospitality and tourism programme from the TEF. Ask your department head to contact us at the JCTI," Rose Brown said.