Kent State University Archives

Irie Jamaican Kitchen jerk chicken — Irie Jamaican Kitchen’s jerk chicken

Irie Jamaican Kitchen's curry chicken bowl — Irie Jamaican Kitchen’s curry chicken bowl

Irie Jamaican Kitchen's fish stew — Irie Jamaican Kitchen’s fish stew

I was planning a business lunch to talk about the Waterloo Arts District, redevelopment, travel and other things with a colleague at The City of Euclid. When I asked where we should go, she suggested a new Jamaican restaurant that people are raving about on E. 185^th Street: Irie Jamaican Kitchen.

This small, cafeteria-style takeout is decorated in the bright colors of Jamaica (black, red, yellow, green). There is bar-style seating with a few stools, too. We dined in and got to meet Omar, the owner, and chat with him about his inspiration. It turns out he went to Cuyahoga Community College and Kent State University for culinary arts and hospitality management. He worked at restaurants his entire life.

Three years ago, he decided to fulfill his dream of owning a restaurant and working for himself. He opened Irie Jamaican Kitchen at Richmond Mall. One month ago, he moved to Euclid, where he currently lives, because he loves the community and felt it would offer a great customer base. So far, he’s doing well.

And, we can see why! Everything was fresh, tasty and full of flavor. There was so much to choose from, including healthy options. You could get a bowl (Jamaican version of Chipotle) with either salad or rice as the base. I got a salad bowl with jerk chicken, vinegar cucumber slaw, pineapple coleslaw and heavenly, carmelized, fried plantains. I also ordered a cup of thick, rich chicken-feet soup. My colleague had a rice bowl with curry chicken, mango salsa, plantains and sour cream. I wanted to try the fish stew in brown sauce, but there will always be another time.

Cornell Club of Northeastern Ohio logo

On Feb. 21, The Cornell Club of Northeastern Ohio sponsored a gathering at MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network) to learn about “Manufacturing and the Future of Work in Northeast Ohio.” The event was attended by Cornell alumni, as well as interested parties from area educators and businesses.

MAGNET’s Linda Barita, director of strategic alliances, led the discussion and was joined by Mike O’Donnell, VP of operations, and Dave Pierson, lead engineer and head of additive and 3D printing.

Highlights of the discussion revolved around data from the 2017 NEO Manufacturing Survey conducted by MAGNET and its partners, The Corporate University and Kent State University at Stark.

The survey showed that manufacturers are concerned about three main issues: rising costs of healthcare, attracting and retaining qualified workers, and government policies and regulations.

The focus of the discussion revolved around attracting a skilled workforce, with a focus on students in high school. Although traditional high school internships have been for juniors or seniors, Pierson says he now is recruiting freshman so that he can offer them training for four years prior to graduation. He states that the interns are well prepared to join the workforce after four years of training and adapt easily to their new jobs.

The question remains around training for adults whose jobs vanished during the 2008 recession. In an article The Plain Dealer, Olivera Perkins reports, “Six of the 10 occupations losing the most jobs were moderate or higher-paying. They included executive secretaries and administrative assistants; business operation specialists, including brokers; and most secondary-school teaching positions.” She continues by stating that “the two fastest-growing occupations were lower-paying: food preparation and serving workers, with a median hourly pay of $8.71, and home health aides, at $9.18 an hour.” (Perkins, 1) This problem has increased the number of “working poor” in our community.

How can we, as a community, offer adults in the community who have found themselves on the sidelines of the job market with the opportunity to learn the skills needed in today’s manufacturing environment? It will take partnerships between the manufacturing industry, educators, government, and those, like myself, who work in the field of Industrial and labor relations, to create employment opportunities that will afford an employee with the opportunity to earn enough money to support him or herself.

Works Cited

Perkins, Olivera. (2012, Sept. 3). “Jobs with mid-range pay are disappearing from the Cleveland area labor market.” Retrieved
from: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/09/decent_paying_jobs_disappearin.html