By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

NOT enough is being done to advise students of career opportunities they could pursue, a well-known trade unionist said yesterday.

John Pinder, the Bahamas Public Service Union’s president, while speaking at the College of the Bahamas’ ‘Day of Economic Discussion’, said: “We are not doing enough to advise students of what fields they should be pursuing.

“Forty-five per cent of our medical technologists are non-Bahamians, but no one is going to the students and telling them to pursue medical technology as a career.”

Robert Farquharson, director of labour, agreed that Bahamian students must been steered towards professions where there is a lack of local expertise.

“We have to steer our youth towards these professions,” he added. “Medical technicians, engineers, quantity surveyors, agriculturalists.

“If you are a Bahamian, if you are registered with us, we will find a job for you. If a foreigner has it, we will tell the foreigner: ‘Your work permit ends in three months; we have a qualified Bahamian’.”

Mr Farquharson, though, conceded that many Bahamian high school leavers were “not ready” for the job market and lacked the necessary soft skills.

Mr Pinder also called on the Bahamas to diversify its economy. “The most important thing our country must do is diversify its economy. We are not doing anything to diversify the economy,” he added.

“We are still using a tourism model established decades ago. Our leaders lack vision. We have natural resources that we need to develop. There are things that we can do to generate much more revenue in this country.”