EDITORIAL

Approximately a decade ago, Barbadians were told that Government was working on a database the would house information on highly skilled Barbadian individuals living in the Diaspora. The purpose, according to a senior state agency official based in one of the international capitals of the world, was to be able to access and call upon where necessary, skills sets and knowledge bases that were thought to be critical to the country’s national development. What became of that database? It would be interesting to know. Had it been fully up and running (we assume here that it isn’t), how successful would it have been and would we have been able to either pay for the consultancy services of these professionals or create other forms of employment opportunities for them within our private and public sector.

Each year, a noteworthy amount of secondary school students receive national development scholarships to pursue a degree locally, regionally or internationally, something which is envied by students around the world. Though the government has made it clear that these awards are given for the national development of the country and that priority areas would have been identified – the basis along which students would be advised to choose a relevant course of study – students in fact pursue their desired field of higher education. The result is that upon their entry into the workforce, some are found to have a degree of qualification which sometimes may not be in demand by the public or private sector. In the cases where the field of study was critical to our development, the graduates may still find it difficult to find gainful employment because government, for example, which funded their studies, does not have the absorptive capacity to embrace them. In frustration, graduates may seek employment opportunities elsewhere or, depending on their circumstances, remain here to fit themselves into another area of discipline, as the reality that bills and other increasing commitments need to be taken care of, comes crashing in on them. It is also important to note that in this economy there are not enough jobs available for those in particular who have pursued academia upon completion of their study.

So why are we investing so much money into the education of citizens when, upon completion, a large percentage cannot find work, or are underemployed? Why is it that on one hand, our economy and perhaps region cannot fully absorb the output of our tertiary educational institutions, yet there are clearly areas of discipline where research and development are needed? It is with these questions in mind that we submit money should be focused on both academic education and technical forms of
education, as both areas of competencies need to be addressed.

We would add that within each educational model, priority areas – once again in line with those identified by both public, private and international rating bodies as areas of economic activities on which we should be focusing our attention – should be identified and pursued with vigour. Additionally, employers need to get on board with retooling employees who are not meeting the standards necessary in these modern times, so that they are not left by the wayside. We need to create an economy where everyone has the capacity to contribute.

There must be a bridge between brains and national economic development that so that we can bear tangible fruit. Likewise, we will continue to despair at failing industries if we fail to invest heavily in research and development. The latter is necessary to keep us progressive and even ahead of the game when benchmarked against our economic competitors.