Mark Beckford, Staff Reporter

St Claire Harris was one of several hundred young men who journeyed to Kingston yesterday in search of a place among the Jamaica Defence Force's (JDF) 3rd Battalion Jamaica Regiment, popularly referred to as the National Reserve. But the vast majority of applicants will remain jobless as less than 150 position are available.

His passion for service pushed him to make the long journey from his hometown in St Ann to the army base at Up Park Camp in Kingston.

However, after waiting for more than an hour, at 8:56 a.m., Harris was still on the outskirts of the recruitment area, with documents in hand, because he was too young to be admitted. To be eligible for recruitment, applicants had to be at least 18 years old. But the St Ann resident was determined to make the lis he would not be 18 until later this month.

"The reason why me come do it is to get a wider understanding about the work world, 'cause life outa road no pretty still," he told The Gleaner as a batch of youths waited on a bus to transport them back to their homes. "In order fi survive and thing, you haffi try. As a man, me love the army and thing, me love the rough life," the young man reasoned as at least a thousand others waited in the morning sun to be interviewed by JDF personnel.

Despite the huge turnout, Captain Colin McCalla said the numbers were in keeping with recent trends. He noted that while there was an appeal for professionals, the crowd included significant numbers of non-professionals.

The latest Labour Force Bulletin compiled in October 2007 showed that the 14-19-year-old age group had the highest number of persons outside the labour force, at 39.2 per cent, or 267,000. Males accounted for 37.1 per cent of that number. The country's unemployment rate was estimated 9.4 per cent, of which males accounted for 5.5 per cent.

Not real professionals

"I think the job market has forced us to look at these numbers because if you go through many of those who turn up now to say that they are working, they will tell you they are construction workers, they work in a hardware, so they are not real professionals, they just hold down a job," McCalla explained, pointing out that many of those who came out were using the opportunity as "a stepping stone to become career soldiers".

The army officer explained that more than 500 persons turned up in Mandeville, but only 54 were selected. In Montego Bay, he said only 11 were chosen from the pool of 400 young men who came out. About 60 responded to the recruitment drive in Port Maria, but McCalla said they have not completed analysing the applications.

Applicants must gain at least a 60 per cent pass in the written exam, which includes four different subject areas. Kingston was the final leg of the islandwide recruitment drive.