Prayers of people in search of jobs have been answered with Amerijet Caribbean Express Ltd’s new branch office. The subsidiary of Amerijet International Airlines – a Florida-based company – opened this branch on Tuesday at 6A Victoria Avenue, Queen’s Park West, Port of Spain. This branch will be managed by John Hagan, Amerijet’s director of revenue accounting.

Hagan said, "Following a review of different locations, we identified Trinidad as the ideal location for a regionally located service centre. We wish to grow our long-standing relationship with the local government, our loyal customers and we see the potential of hiring skilled and committed people to build the solid foundation for the continued growth of Amerijet."

Amerijet has been operating at the Piarco International Airport for over 22 years.

At the launch, Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon said, “This near-shoring investment which is valued at $13.5 million will support internal services such as accounts payable and receivable, and also revenue accounting, project management and business intelligence to its customers.”

The company's new service will provide employment for 25 professionals in the finance and management sectors. From there, Gopee-Scoon said the opportunities will only grow.

“Amerijet’s decision to establish this shared-services centre in TT is further indicative of our trade in services which this government has earmarked for growth. TT has a highly-skilled and dedicated workforce and today’s (Tuesday) investment is testimony to that.”

She also took the time to recognise InvesTT and its president Sekou Alleyne who, she said, has been working hard at expanding the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

“We’re late to the game in terms of some of the penetration that has occurred in the rest of the region, but... I know InvesTT is having many successes. Once we have our SEZ (special economic zone) up and running, then we can do even more at attracting persons in the BPO sector, especially at the higher levels as well.”

[caption id="attachment_1008430" align="alignnone" width="1018"] Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon. -Amerijet [/caption]

Gopee-Scoon said TT’s SEZ is near completion and the government is committed to opportunities like these for other investors.

Chief financial officer (CFO) Joe Mozzali said even though Amerijet has expanded its business to Europe, Asia and in the US, it noticed that its core business is the Caribbean and Central American markets.

Mozzoli has been CFO of Amerijet since January, but served as CFO for UPS Airlines where he worked for over 30 years. In his remarks, he also thanked Maritime Financial Services for partnering with Amerijet to make the service centre a reality.

He said, “Amerijet demonstrated our capabilities as an essential provider by transporting vaccines and PPE for the citizens of TT.”

CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) Nirad Tewarie said that though Amerijet is not a big sponsor, it is a friend of Amcham since they pro