Friday, January 24, 2020
By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Some 60 percent of Bahamian companies view the country’s workforce as “globally uncompetitive”, with a labour specialist affirming yesterday: “Everyone admits we have a challenge.”
Peter Goudie, the National Tripartite Council’s vice-chairman, said the latest data on workforce “skills gaps” had “opened the dialogue” and brought together public and private sector stakeholders seeking to alter trends that have endured for decades.
He spoke out after the latest survey results, unveiled at a Town Hall meeting hosted by the Bahamas Technical & Vocational Institute (BTVI) in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Nassau Sunrise, confirmed that there has been little improvement when it comes to employers finding an adequate supply of trained workers with the skills they desire.
The survey, which received 155 responses from Bahamian companies, found that more than 40 percent of respondents were unable to “consistently recruit local employees that meet our needs”.
And another 65 percent of Bahamian businesses said finding workers equipped with the necessary literacy and numeracy skills was “a significant challenge in hiring”. Respondents said “under-qualified” applicants were the main challenge they faced when trying to recruit, with a lack of soft and technical skills, plus the absence of relevant experience, also posing a major problem.
And only just over 10 percent of respondents viewed The Bahamas’ workforce training initiatives as a success, highlighting the disconnect between the Government’s efforts and the private sector’s needs.
Still, almost 59 percent of companies responding to the survey said they were able to retain employees who met their needs.
Mr Goudie, who was part of a panel discussion on the findings, said he felt “positive” that efforts were being made to tackle The Bahamas’ workforce inadequacies and skills gaps even though he acknowledged the task is a daunting one.
“We know we have a challenge and everybody admits that,” he told Tribune Business. “Nothing was surprising. We need to move forward, but at least we had everybody there saying: ‘Let’s do this’.
“We needed to open the dialogue and that’s what we did today. It was very beneficial and we really got to hear some of the strides we are making, especially in the maritime. I think the main takeaway was we’re all striving to do the right thing and work with BTVI, the Ministry of Education and University of The Bahamas to make progress in our employment industry.”
Comments
bogart says...
Views are from the companies. The other part of the equation must be from the applicants, employees.
Many applicant usually have to not tell full abilities in order to get jobs. Many employees will have complaints about the employer who in many cases fail to provide conditions to get results. In many businesses the envoronment gets more expensive, more taxes and in many businesses benefits shrink. Number of Bahamian businesses are struggling and some large well known businesses close.
Given todays realities businesses must also look within on why they are not getting the best from what they are offering.
Posted 24 January 2020, 6:49 p.m. Suggest removal
Porcupine says...
This is merely a commentary on skill sets.
Were we to honestly evaluate work ethics, such as reliability, showing up at all, being on time, attitude, honesty, time spent in the bathroom, using a cell phone for gossip while on the job......... we would see where the real problems in attracting and keeping businesses here really are. These issues may be accepted here as part of the "culture", but they could never be accepted by someone who has lived and hired people in places where things actually work.
Our biggest problem is accepting the fact that we have a marginally functioning society, from government to the private sector. The metrics stare us in the face daily, but most of us seem in denial.
Posted 27 January 2020, 8:14 a.m. Suggest removal
TheMadHatter says...
The Minister of Education could, with one stroke of a pen, get rid of the silly letter grades on the exams - which cause the letter "D" to hold the median position - thus causing our "average" grade to be a D. The old grading system of A, B, C, D, F existed for a reason - because "C" is in the middle of the AB and DF - thus the average grade becomes a C.
Get rid of the U, the E, the X, and whatever letters he enjoys in his imagination.
Then our students will feel better about themselves and their performance and try to reach higher and higher levels of performance. As it is now, we tell our average Bahamian student that he/she is very near to being a failure - always - this has a psychological effect. We are destroying our own future - or should I say, Minister Lloyd is playing an important role in this drama.
Posted 27 January 2020, 11:18 a.m. Suggest removal
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