andrew s downes phd professor of economics and pro vice chancellor planning and development,...

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN BARABADOS :PLANNING

FOR THE NEW ECONOMY*Andrew S Downes PhD

Professor of Economics and Pro Vice ChancellorPlanning and Development , University of the West Indies

January 2014*presented at the Barbados Skills for the Future conference, January 26-28, 2014

Nature of Skills Development Skills Development and the Barbadian

Economy Institutional Framework for Skills

Development in Barbados Skills for a New Barbadian Economy

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

Research has shown that Human Resources Development ( HRD) is critical to the general growth and development of a country

HRD is involves the development of knowledge, skills, competencies.... of the persons

Skills development is an important part of HRD usually focusing on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

TVET relates “the study of technologies and related sciences and the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, understanding and knowledge relating to occupations in various sectors” in addition to general education [UNESCO]

Skills development provides the basis for wage/salaried and self employment ( and entrepreneurship)

NATURE OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

The range of skills can be broadly classified into;◦ Basic –which facilitate the acquisition of knowledge◦ Cross functional—which permits one to perform effectively in a

range of job settings.

Basic Skills:◦ Content skills—literacy, numeracy, listening, writing,

comprehension◦ Process skills -- critical thinking, active learning

Cross Functional Skills:◦ Social skills –ability to work with ours◦ Technical skills –related to the occupational standards◦ Problem solving skills◦ Resource management skills —time management◦ System skills –visioning, decision making, monitoring ability


Alternative Approaches to Skills Development◦ Human Capital/Productivist: this is the traditional

approach to TVET—training for growth/productivity and skills for work/employability

◦ Human Centred: Human development and capabilities: based on freedom

for ability of persons to choose their own development path Human rights: persons have a basic right to education and

training Human security : combines the two above in the context of

promoting peace, dialogue and environmental sustainability Human flourishing: giving persons the opportunity to

explore their intrinsic creativity and productivity


Holistic/Integrated Human Development: involves an encompassing /integrated approach to skills development –technical (related to a particular industry); employability (how to get and keep a job); generic (life or interpersonal) and basic ( literacy, numeracy etc)

In practice, many of the elements of the above approaches are involved in the delivery and development of TVET within institutions and on the job as education and training are both dynamic and need to reflect social and economic needs— current and future


Since the 1960s the economy of Barbados has experienced a general decline in economic growth:◦ 1960s---relatively high growth rates averaging 6%◦ 1970s---slowdown in growth to 3% with 1970-75

( decline) and 1975-80 ( recovery)◦ 1980s---further slowdown in growth to 1% with

1980-85( decline) and 1985-90 (recovery)◦ 1990s---slight improvement in growth to 1.5% with

1990-94 (decline) and 1994-2000 (recovery)◦ 2000s---relatively constant at 1.2% with slight

decline in 2001, recovery=2002-7 and decline =2008----???

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND THE BARBADIAN ECONOMY

Economic Growth in Barbados 1975-2011 ( %)

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-6

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%)

Decline in agricultural production and manufacturing output but a growth in the services sector esp tourism and international business

Transition from agricultural based economy to services oriented economy

Barbados’ international profile:◦ High income non-OECD country ( World Bank)◦ Very high human development ( ranked 38 out of 186

countries in the Human Development Index in 2012- UNDP)◦ Ranked 44 out of 144 countries (Global Competitiveness

Report 2012-13)◦ Making the transition from the “efficiency” stage of development

( a focus of efficient production and quality products) to the “innovation” stage ( focus on unique and new products) (World Economic Forum)


Two (2) Challenges facing the country in the real economy:◦ Barbados has been experiencing a “growth slowdown” which

is usually associated with a “middle income trap” where countries are unable to push through to the “high income” stage. Bit of a paradox as Barbados’ international profile suggests “high income” status. The Economic Growth Challenge.

◦ Relatively high level of unemployment especially among the youth ( although there has been some decline the early 1990s): 1992-23% to 2007-7.4% 2012-11.6%. There has been universal secondary level education since the mid 1960s but 48% of population aged 15+ years have no certification!! (population census 2010). The Human Capital challenge.


Employment growth has been relatively low—average annual rate of 1.4% over the 1987 to 2008 period ( with a decline over the “Great Recession” period).

Relatively constant number of skilled agricultural workers ( about 3000) but a decline in plant/machine operators/assemblers (from 9000 in 1995 to 7300 in 2012)

Growth in senior officials/managers/professionals/technicians ( esp females) over past two decades. This grouping constitute about 30% of the employed labour force and reflects the services-orientation of the economy.


Service/shop workers have growth over the years and constituted 19% of the employed in 2012.

Employment in Elementary occupations has decline moderately over the years from 26,500 ( 23%) in 1996 to 22,500 (18%) in 2012.

Labour market has seen an overall improvement the human capital base (as measured by occupational classification) but there is some concern about a “missing middle” in the occupational skill ladder ( ie Skilled crafts and trades and Technicians/Operators). Some “creative destruction” may be taking place in the economy


Using a measure of mismatch based on the national and occupational unemployment rates:◦ MM= (1-ui)/(1-u) where ui is the unemployment rate

among occupation i, and u is the national unemployment rate MM less than 1 for elementary occupations over

1996-2012 period and for clerks/service workers/skills agric workers over 2006-2012( indicating mismatch or unemployment rates in these groups higher than national rate). Need to re-allocate these resources

MM greater than 1 in senior officials /professional technicians/ associate professionals ( no mismatch, possible shortage as evident by work permits data)

MM equal to 1 in craft/plant and machine operators


Preliminary econometric research(Earning Equations) using data from the labour force survey for 2003 indicate that the private Rates of Return for Vocational education and training were◦ Males----- 17%◦ Females ---11%

Comparable with university education◦ Males ----18%◦ Females---16%


Increase in the number of persons reporting as “ self employed” from 14,000 in 1996 to 17, 500 in 2001 to ???? In 2012

Ageing of the population esp those 60+years (1970—11.6% to 2010—17.8%)

Some degree of migration of skilled persons over the years esp nurses and teachers

World Competitiveness Reports have cited weaknesses in labour market with respect to:◦ Labour market efficiency◦ Higher education and training◦ Work ethic ◦ Labour Productivity/performance


Several institutions exist to provide training and skills development along the skills/competences ladder ( basic to high)

The percentage of the population 15+ years that has received institutional training has increased from 39% in 1980 to 58% in 2010, while non-institutional training ( on the job, private study and other forms) has declined from 59% to 38% .

NB: surveys of enterprises still report a high level of on-the-job training amongst its workforce.

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN BARBADOS

Main institutions involved in the skills development enterprise include:◦ University of the West Indies (UWI)◦ Barbados Community College (BCC)◦ Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP)◦ Barbados Vocational Training Board (BVTB)◦ Technical and Vocational and Education

Training Council (TVET Council)◦ Along with Erdiston Teachers’ Training

College, Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme ( YES) and private providers


An examination of the data for these institutions indicate the following:◦ General upward trend in persons enrolled and

graduating over the past decade◦ UWI and BCC provide higher level skills—degrees

and associate degrees◦ Relatively flat enrolment in SJPP and Erdiston over

the past decade◦ SJPP and BVTB provide mid and lower level training

—diploma and certificates in technical and vocational areas

◦ General increase in persons in BIMAP’s long term and short/special courses, but decline in professional courses over the past decade.



2003

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Enrolment in Tertiary Institutions 2003-2009

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20110

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BVTB Persons Trained in Skills Training 2000-2011

Persons Trained

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Participants in BIMAP Courses 2000-2012

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Short/Special

Professional

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Policy Framework for skills development◦ A Social Demand approach to education and training adopted

—supply side focus◦ Provision of “free” and low fee education and training which

encourages oversupply in some cases ( even a “diploma disease effect” and some “bumping down effect”)

◦ Largely public provision of education and training ( BIMAP has a commercial focus for business education and training)

◦ Tax incentives provided for education and training along with scholarships, grants and loans ( training and re-training)

◦ Emphasis recently on “competency based training” which can be extend to “ capabilities based training”

◦ Adoption of National and Caribbean Vocational Qualification frameworks (NVQ/CVQ)

◦ Use of information technology in teaching and training ( Edutech)


Emergence of a “new economy” for Barbados based on trends in:◦ Demography◦ Technology /Innovation◦ Economic policy and creative destruction

Skills development would be largely demand driven as these trends provide the basic for human resources planning (ie labour market signalling approach to HR planning)

There is a “time to educate and to train” which varies according to the level of skill/competency needed to perform effectively/efficiently on the job.

Some supply driven skill development can result in entrepreneurship/new ventures —supply can create its own demand

SKILLS FOR A NEW BARBADIAN ECONOMY

Guiding documents for medium and long term growth and development in Barbados:◦ The National Strategic Plan of Barbados 2006-2025---a

fully developed society that is prosperous socially just and globally competitive

◦ Medium Term Development Strategy of Barbados 2010-2014 – globally competitive and productive economy, growth rate of above 3%, reduced unemployment, poverty reduction, stable macroeconomic environment, entrepreneur development and environmental sustainability

◦ Revised Medium Term Fiscal Strategy 2010-14– establishment of fiscal targets

◦ Protocol for a Social Partnership VI◦ Throne Speech 2013 ( socially balanced, economically viable,

environmentally sound and characterised by good governance)-productivity growth of 2 to 3 % per annum


Several areas of economic activity can be developed based on demographic trends, changing consumption patterns and technological developments as Barbados moves to the “innovation driven stage of development” (WEF)

◦ Personal care—domestic market linked to tourism◦ Cultural/creative sector( including heritage) —regional

and international markets◦ Geriatric care—domestic market◦ ICT—international market◦ Tourism and Hospitality—regional and international

market◦ Construction –domestic market ( possible regional

market)


◦ Health/wellness ( Medical Tourism)—regional and international markets

◦ Fashion and Design—regional/international markets◦ New Agriculture ( linked to health and wellness—

domestic and regional◦ New Manufacturing ( based on new technologies)—

domestic and regional markets◦ Green economy services/Renewable energy— all markets◦ Financial services—international market◦ Natural products—international market◦ Educational services—domestic, regional and

international markets◦ Blue economy services—yachting, boat repair—regional

and international


Preliminary evidence in Barbados indicates the following areas of skill demand:◦ Personal care (skin care specialists, manicurists/ pedicurists,

cosmetologists, hairdressers, dental assistants, hygienists)◦ Cultural sector (make-up artists, theatrical and performance

technicians, visual artists, film assistants, models)◦ Geriatric care (medical nursing assistants, home care assistants,

social/human services assistants, pharmacy technicians, physical therapist aides)

◦ Maritime sector (welders, electricians, plumbers, chefs, cooks)◦ ICT sectors (programmers, data entry, computer repair

technicians, electronics, maintenance workers)◦ Construction (masons, carpenters, joiners, electricians, plumbers,

interior designers, draftspersons)◦ Hospitality (customer service reps, spa assistants, tour

operators/guides, golf course attendants) ◦ Health/Wellness (therapists, personal trainers, gym personnel)


Human Resources Development Strategy 2011-2016 and National Training Plan 2011-16 provide the planning framework for skills development in Barbados

Need to focus on implementation Use of a strategy map which would link different elements

of the Plan and strategy in a systematic way◦ Which agencies would focus on what type and level of training◦ Role of the school system in the training function◦ The certification/accreditation process◦ The sources of financial and human resources ◦ The HR information system needed—esp leading indicators◦ The national-regional-international dimension of training

This is the charge of the Skills for the Future project


THANK YOU

andrew s downes phd professor of economics and pro vice chancellor planning and development,...

Documents

persons skills development

basic skills

technical skills

barbados skills

range of skills

development of tvet

development of knowledge

social skills ability